Brewers mailbag: Answering questions on Sal Frelick, roster decisions, trading Willy Adames and more

PHOENIX – We're almost there.

Following an off-day for the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, opening day is now just one week away. Baseball, real baseball, is knocking at the door.

With that so close, we opened up our first mailbag of the 2024 season to answer questions on fans' minds. I've had enough writing about what I think is interesting this spring; now it's time to see what the readers want to know about.

Let's dig in.

Could Eric Haase be traded? Much like the Brewers acquiring Caratini a couple years back before the season started? Or will they carry three catchers? He seems to have proven he belongs on an MLB roster.

There were a bunch of questions about Haase and carrying three catchers, so I’ll try addressing it all in one answer.

Haase has had a superb spring not only batting but the pitchers and coaches love the way he can handle a staff. Some of the changes he’s made at the plate – namely, standing farther off the plate to allow his quick hands to catch up to fastballs – seem legitimate.

That said, I’m not sure how they can carry three catchers for any significant length of time. It leaves you short one man either in the infield or outfield. Pat Murphy has said as much, too. It’s feasible for shorter spurts, so maybe they try squeezing Haase on to see if his success carries over into April.

But the most likely outcome, given Murphy’s comments so far this spring on carrying three catchers, is Haase is put on waivers. From there, you would figure someone would be willing to offer something up for him in a trade.

Have you been able to watch Sal Frelick at 3rd in spring training? Does he look like he could play at least at an average level this year or is this more an experiment for the future?

We also had lots of Sal Frelick questions. So same thing here as above.

Frelick has played lots of third in games but somehow almost never gets the ball hit to him. It’s uncanny. But in drills, you can see he’s gotten more comfortable. He’s very fluid and smooth coming in on the ball.

I can’t say if he will be an average third baseman, but I do think there’s enough of a chance that it’s worth giving him a shot at the hot corner during the season. And it sure seems like the Brewers are intent on Frelick being the primary third baseman against righties, too.

Do you think Ashby starts the season in the rotation or will he likely not be ready for opening day? If there’s still concern with his shoulder does he go to the bullpen?

The way the roster looks now, I don’t foresee Ashby opening the season in the majors. All reports from him, as well as the Brewers, are that the shoulder is healthy but the velocity still isn’t quite all the way back.

Murphy mentioned him as still in the running for one of the last rotation spots (and it’s still very possible we see him early on as the Brewers piecemeal their innings together) but it doesn’t sound like he’s ahead of someone like Joe Ross.

As for the bullpen, it’s a possibility but not to the level I thought it would be. Perhaps down the road a bit, but for now it sounds like he’s a starter.

How many games will the Brewers win this season and what place will they finish in the NL Central? 

82 and third.

Curt, could you see the Brewers using 2 sets of piggyback starters in a 5 day rotation? That is a pair of pitchers who both go through the order twice to hopefully get the team to the 7th or 8th inning consistently? 

The Brewers are going to get creative with their staff this year, I believe, but I’m not sure the piggyback option is consistently viable. It just leaves you down an arm far too often. That said, they don’t have a ton of starters who will go through the lineup three times. Having guys like Jakob Junis, Taylor Clarke and Bryse Wilson around will allow Murphy to be flexible in getting to 27 outs sometimes because this isn’t a staff that is going to give you six innings before turning it over to the top three bullpen arms as we’ve seen in the past.

Howdy Curt, what are some things about spring training games and camp that would surprise most fans ? Some lesser known aspects that maybe show why one obviously should not look at team records, pitcher ERA's, and hitter batting stats this time of year ? Although to me batting stats have meaning for lots of "bubble players"

First and most importantly, you quickly become a walking Yelp review of all the taco spots in Maryvale. (Ta Carbon Mexican Grill. Thank me later.)

The obvious answer for why not to look at surface stats all that deeply is that guys are going out there and working on things. It simply does not matter one iota to Christian Yelich if he’s hitting .100 in spring or hits two homers over three at-bats like he did recently.

There are little things to observe that matter more, like swing decisions for hitters or how certain pitches look for pitchers. That can all be difficult to glean from afar, especially with only a small number of games televised now. But it’s something like Jackson Chourio attacking better pitches or Robert Gasser’s cutter being a whiff machine that might actually be indicative.

Unlike some of my friends, I'm not worried about who pitches the 9th while Williams is on the shelf. I've followed this team for 40 years, and we almost always have a competent (if not downright successful) closer. Who do you think is most likely to emerge in that role when the real games start?

It is wild to think of how successful the Brewers have been at having elite-level closers over the years with few valleys in between.

As for this team, Murphy is saying all the right things about attacking it by committee and not feeling a need to commit to any specific arm for the ninth. That said, baseball nature tells us someone will probably grab the closer’s role, and if I had to bet on someone I would go with Abner Uribe. His stuff looks as good as ever this spring and he’s got the perfect closer’s temperament so long as he can channel his emotion in a positive way.

Is it fair to say the Brewers will have more hitting and less effective pitching this year?

Did Ben Sheets deserve far better fate in the 2004 Cy Young voting?

Do any of the non-roster invitees have opt-outs in their contracts before Opening Day (or later in the season)? Arroyo is the only NRI with any significant service time, but not enough for the CBA to mandate an opt-out for him. Doesn't mean that an opt-out wasn't negotiated. 

Arroyo does have an opt-out in his contract, per source, for the end of this week. I don’t get the sense the Brewers will be guaranteeing a roster spot (as well as $2 million) for him as they did with Luke Voit last year so it’s quite possible he opts out.

Speaking of Luke Voit, remember his spring last year? Just thought I’d throw that out there as a reminder to not read too much into anything that happens in these games.

Curt, I hope you can answer more questions with shorter answers, rather than a few questions with essay length answers. I enjoy variety, and if a question invites a particularly long answer, I suggest just creating a stand alone article later on. Just my 3 cents (inflation from 2 cents).

Sure.

Hey there Curt, (Joey) Ortiz and (DL) Hall have been showing promise. Will Murphy feel any pressure from GM (Matt) Arnold to have them make the opening day roster, or is that totally his call with no attention paid to the PR aspect after dealing Burnes to obtain them? I feel it really should come down to baseball ability / performance reasons.

A rule of thumb when evaluating or predicting roster moves by the Brewers: They don’t make moves based on PR.

Hall is going to be the No. 3 starter to open the year. Ortiz is a virtual lock to make it, too. Both can play.

Curt, so many fans suggest converting various players to play first base. It does not necessarily always work. What skills of playing first base are the most difficult to learn and master? For example we have heard some reasons Black is a work in progress there.

Something I’ve gotten more cognizant this camp about playing different positions is how different the game is at various spots. Sal Frelick’s instincts, for example, have to be different at third than in the outfield. For Black, it’s the same thing. Earlier this spring, he was at first and playing in on the grass with a runner at third. On a high chopper to the mound, he broke one step for the ball – because that’s his instinct. He quickly tried to change direction and head back to first but slipped and the batter was safe.

The footwork is obviously different, too, but at the end of the day you’re also having to adjust your instincts.

Curt, do most players with families maintain two residences, one in Milwaukee and another in the offseason ? Do players bring their families along on road trips during the season ? Is there a school specifically for children of the players?

Few, if any, players live in Milwaukee year-round. As a lifelong Milwaukeean, I don’t blame them!

Sir Curt, when other teams cut down rosters to 26, the Brewers have been known to swoop in and claim players in the past . Which positions should we keep an eye on for potential additions ? For example do we roll with our bullpen and let closer by committee play out ?

Definitely feels like it would be the bullpen this year. Matt Arnold loves his hard throwers with upside.

Also, I didn’t know I had been knighted.

If Devin Williams had his back issue at the end of last year, why would you expect his injury to heal in the next 12 weeks if it didn't heal in the off season that was at least 12 weeks long, if not longer. Is he on complete rest now or do they treat his back with more aggressive treatments.

The key difference is that Williams is now shut down completely from throwing for six weeks. He was still throwing and lifting all winter to stay loose.

Why haven’t the Brewers traded Adames yet? He’s only under contract for this season and they’re not going to resign him. His value will only go down by the trade deadline. If they’re “in it” at the deadline, they’ll be forced to keep him and go on to either miss the playoffs or lose in the first round. Either way, they’ll watch him walk after the season, while getting nothing in return. It feels like they’re just trying to appease the fans. They traded for Joey Ortiz for a reason. Put him out there and see if he’s the future or not.

I said on our podcast (shameless plug for Microbrew if you’re not already a listener) all winter that I never expected Adames to be traded. That’s not because I didn’t think he would be shopped or that there’s a world in which the Brewers would look to trade him.

Primarily, I just figured that the Brewers’ expected 2024 value from Adames almost certainly exceeded the offers they would get. On top of that, it’s easier to try and replace the value of a starting pitcher in the aggregate than an upper-tier shortstop.

Adames wont be at SS next season, maybe even this season, who will replace him? Turang or would Ortiz? Do you see one of them as a more natural SS versus 2B?

I think the answer here is Joey Ortiz (for now) but both can absolutely pick it. The idea is for those two to be the cornerstones up the middle for a while. We'll see if they hit enough to make that happen.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers mailbag: Sal Frelick, Willy Adames, roster moves and more