Milwaukee Brewers interested in Derek Dietrich of Miami Marlins, per report

Trade season is heating up, and the Milwaukee Brewers are already being connected to several players across the league. In Jon Morosi’s most recent report, the Brewers aren’t searching for pitching, but hitting.

According to Morosi, David Stearns and company are eyeing up the Miami Marlins’ Derek Dietrich. The 28-year-old Dietrich is in the middle of a career year with the Marlins, hitting .303/.354/.491 with 11 homers. He plays all over the field on defense, including third base, first base, and the outfield, but is best at second base.

As mentioned, Dietrich is having a career season but his performance could easily be an anomaly. As it stands, he has a .374 BABIP the highest of his career. Add on a low walk rate of 4.4% and a career-high walk rate of 24.1% and it’s unlikely the success will continue.

While Dietz is able to play all over the field, he is far from a defensive specialist. His only position with a positive defensive runs saved this season is at second. That is where Milwaukee would likely play him the most, so his defensive liabilities shouldn’t be that concerning.

Another positive with Dietrich is his control. Despite appearing in parts of six different seasons with the Marlins, he still has two more years of control after 2018. He’s not making much at $2,900,000, but that number will likely grow through arbitration over the coming years.

Morosi says that a deal isn’t close at this time. It will be interesting to see if Brad Miller and the impending return of Tyler Saladino changes Milwaukee's approach to acquiring additional help in terms of versatile bats for the infield.