With the trade deadline closing in, the Brewers have a few obvious areas to attack - but one of the quieter needs might be the one that shapes their outfield plans the most. Milwaukee’s lineup has had trouble handling left-handed pitching, and the current mix in the outfield doesn’t offer much relief.
Jackson Chourio is the lone true right-handed outfield bat in the group. Blake Perkins, a switch-hitter who has been better against southpaws lately, is the only other outfield option who can hit from the right side. Beyond that, the Brewers are leaning left-heavy with Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Jake Bauers all swinging from the left side.
Bauers has earned a lot of run in right field against lefties thanks to his breakout season, while Andrew Vaughn usually starts at first base in those matchups and Gary Sánchez steps in as the designated hitter. That setup has helped Milwaukee patch together lineups, but it also leaves Brandon Lockridge as a missing piece for now.
Lockridge is still on the injured list after an arthroscopic knee procedure to fix a chondral flap that surfaced while he was rehabbing a knee laceration. He is not expected back until late July, which puts the Brewers in a spot where they have to decide whether what they saw from him earlier this season is enough to trust him in the lefty-pitching role or whether they need to go shopping before the deadline.
The numbers point toward the latter being a real possibility. Milwaukee entered Thursday afternoon night ranked 20th in the majors with a .687 OPS against left-handed pitching. Chourio has been the bright spot at .969, but the drop-off after him is steep: Mitchell sits at .717 after an excellent game on Wednesday night, Perkins is at .701, Bauers at .699, Lockridge at .636, and Frelick at .508.
Lockridge’s own track record doesn’t exactly scream solution, either. He had only 34 at-bats against left-handers before his injury this season, and his career splits are nearly even - a .628 OPS against right-handers and a .623 OPS against left-handers.
That leaves Milwaukee with a clear question: do they keep searching internally, or do they add another right-handed bat who can do damage against lefties? Prospect Luis Lara has made a strong case in the minors, putting up a .986 OPS with four homers in 65 at-bats against left-handers this season. But if the Brewers want more power, the trade market may still be the more likely path.
The list of obvious targets is short. Taylor Ward of the Baltimore Orioles, Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels, and Luis Robert Jr. of the New York Mets stand out as the top right-handed hitting outfield options available in trade talks. Even so, Milwaukee has shown enough flexibility that a less obvious move wouldn’t be a surprise.
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