clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

David Stearns says the Milwaukee Brewers are waiting to hear back on multiple offers

The Brewers haven’t swung a deal during the Winter Meetings yet, but it’s not for a lack of trying

MLB: Milwaukee Brewers Press Conference Rick Wood-USA TODAY Sports

The Brewers have been constantly mentioned as a team that could do big things during this week's Winter Meetings, but to this point, that hasn't translated into actually doing big things -- or much of anything, at least publicly.

According to multiple reports, it's not for a lack of trying. The team has multiple balls in the air during this first part of the week when it comes to free agents, and are now left waiting to hear back.

Stearns made those comments on Tuesday night, and expanded on them a bit with Tom Haudricourt this morning.

That last comment goes back to what Kyle said yesterday about the surprisingly sparse early trade market for Domingo Santana -- Stearns has shown in the past that he's willing to stick to his guns in trade negotiations, and won't pull the trigger unless he feels he's getting a good deal. That self-assurance has served him well as GM to this point, whether it was the trade of Jonathan Lucroy or breaking off trade talks for Sonny Gray when Oakland insisted on getting Lewis Brinson. Gray ended up with a 3.72 ERA/4.87 FIP with an 8.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in his first 11 starts with the Yankees -- good, but probably not worth the Brewers' best prospect.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal says he expects the Brewers to stay active when it comes to shopping for a second baseman. During a Tuesday appearance on MLB Tonight, Rosenthal again linked the team to Ian Kinsler, while tossing in another AL Central name:

Whit Merrifield has just over one year of major league service time, and is coming off a year in which he hit .288/.324/.460 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI in 145 games. The 28-year-old also stole 34 bases in 2017, and ranked third on the Royals in WAR behind Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer.

Kinsler was linked to the Brewers at the summer trade deadline before the team ultimately traded for Neil Walker. Kinsler is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, hitting just .236/.313/.412 in 139 games this past year, but he still carries some offensive pop, hitting 22 home runs at age 35. The Tigers picked up his $11 million option for 2018, but reportedly only did so because they wanted to trade him this winter. Kinsler has a 10-team no-trade list, on which the Brewers still apparently appear.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference