Matt Arnold is undoubtedly innocent.
During his time as Brewers general manager, he made several trades that went well for the Brewers. One of those was Caleb Durbin, who was traded last offseason and became an integral part of a team that won the league and made it to the NLCS. Last month, it seemed like he might even be the third baseman of the future. Instead, he will wear a Red Sox uniform on Opening Day.
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Perhaps Arnold and the Brewers front office want to overprice a player who isn’t widely viewed as a long-term starter before the 2025 season. Maybe they spotted a red flag in his profile. Maybe they’re looking at their overloaded farm system and thinking they can survive without him.
Or maybe there’s another deal coming.
Milwaukee also sent Andrew Monasterio and Anthony Seigler to Boston in the trade, so the Brewers’ entire depth chart at third base is now in Boston. After shortstop Joey Ortiz, the Brewers’ most experienced third baseman is…Andrew Vaughn.
Something must be happening.
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Durbin, Monasterio and Seigler – along with Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton and Sean Droghan – could look very good back in a few years. It really doesn’t look good right now. Harrison, a left-handed pitcher who was a top-25 pick, was obviously a major part of the deal. Hamilton is an infielder who is good in 2024, but he probably won’t be anything Durbin (or even Monasterio) can’t be. He hit under .200 last year. Droghan is also a left-hander and his profile is certainly interesting. He’s also 27 years old, has a career 4.29 ERA in the minor leagues, and had a rough season last year while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Something must be happening.
Who’s going to play third base? Will the Brewers move Joey Ortiz back to third? Regardless, that means they’re confident in Jeter Williams’ (yet to make his major league debut) ability to be an everyday contributor next year. Maybe they think Andrew Fisher and Jesus are closer to being ready than they currently appear to be. Maybe Sal Frilick has secretly been taking (more) reps at third base. Maybe Ryan Braun, who has been playing third base for the past 20 years and is about to pull up Philip Rivers, is looking for redemption. Or maybe, just maybe, there’s another move coming.
Maybe it’s the Isaac Paredes trade. Or trade Alec Boehm. Maybe this is a Triple-A player that most fans haven’t heard of, and maybe he’ll finally hit .270 and lead the league in hits.
Something must be going on…right?
