The Reds’ decision to lock up Chase Burns for seven years and $105 million may have clarified their future, but it didn’t change the present. Cincinnati still sits 17.0 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and trails eight other teams in the NL Wild Card race, which is why Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the club is expected to sell at the trade deadline.
That puts Milwaukee in position to circle a division rival that has a few arms worth watching. A trade inside the NL Central would not be the most likely path, but the fit is there if Cincinnati is willing to move anyone outside its core.
The Brewers, of course, are not going to pry away Hunter Greene, Chase Burns or any of the Reds’ young starters. If anything happens here, it would be for shorter-term help or lower-profile relievers.
One name that checks a lot of boxes is Sam Moll. The 34-year-old lefty is making less than $1 million in his second trip through arbitration and is coming off a rough 2025 season.
Even now, his 4.43 ERA and 4.53 FIP are ordinary at best, but the appeal is obvious: cheap, controllable relief help with another year of team control beyond 2026. He’s also holding left-handed hitters to a .190/.289/.298 line, which only adds to the appeal.
Brock Burke is another left-handed bullpen option who could make sense for Milwaukee. He’s a rental on a $2.325 million salary and has already piled up 49 appearances this season after logging 69 last year, so durability is part of the package.
His 2.89 ERA looks strong on the surface, though the 4.36 FIP and 4.50 xERA suggest some caution. Even so, he has been tough on lefties and could help ease the load on Aaron Ashby as the Brewers head toward the playoffs.
The most interesting name of the group is Brady Singer. He’s the best Reds starter likely to be available, but the results this year have been shaky: a 4.56 ERA in 19 starts, with numbers that are near or at career-worst levels.
His fastballs, usually a strength, have been getting hit hard. Still, there’s a reason he’d draw attention.
Before 2026, Singer had been one of the more dependable starters in the sport, throwing at least 150 innings in every season from 2022-25 while posting a 4.12 ERA and 3.95 FIP.
The obstacle is salary. Singer is due $12.75 million, a figure that is almost certainly beyond Milwaukee’s comfort zone. And after adding Lance McCullers Jr., the Brewers have little reason to force a deal for a middling rental starter.
But if Cincinnati wants to move Singer simply to clear money in a lost season, Milwaukee could be the club best positioned to take a shot and try to get him back on track.
In Other News...
Brewers Fans Wont Love Why This Offseason Trade Is Back Today
The Brewers offseason deal with Boston has already become one of those trades that looks better for both sides the longer it sits. Caleb Durbin was part of the package Milwaukee sent to the Red Sox, and Boston has ridden the players it got in return into a much better place in the American League East, with a wild-card spot in hand as the calendar moved through July.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, has had enough from its side of the exchange to feel good about the move, even if the reminder stings a little when Boston keeps stacking wins. Durbins latest contribution came in a game that helped extend the Red Soxs surge, and with the trade pieces on both sides producing, it is the kind of transaction that keeps showing up in the background every time either club makes noise. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Be One Deadline Move From Troubling The Dodgers
The Brewers have spent enough time proving they can hang around the top of the National League, but the postseason conversation still circles back to the same question: do they have the kind of frontline starter who can tilt a short series? Milwaukees current rotation has kept the club in position, yet the gap between a good regular-season staff and one built to bother the Dodgers is still pretty clear, which is why the trade deadline looms so large for this group.
A single move could change the tone of the whole race, and the Brewers have at least kicked around a range of possibilities as they weigh how aggressive to be. There are the obvious high-end names, the steadier veteran types and the more complicated fits, but the basic idea is simple enough: if Milwaukee lands one starter who can anchor a playoff rotation, it can start thinking less about surviving October and more about making life uncomfortable for the teams sitting at the top. [Read more 🡒]