With the trade deadline closing in, the Brewers are once again living in rumor season. Milwaukee’s name is floating through plenty of talks because of where it sits right now: one of the best teams in baseball. That naturally leads to the familiar game of “what if?”
What if the Brewers had landed Tarik Skubal, Mason Miller, or CJ Abrams? What if that 2015 deal with the Mets had actually happened and Zack Wheeler had been in the rotation?
What if David Fry had stayed in the organization instead of being dealt to Cleveland in March 2022 for J.C. Mejía?
Those kinds of questions are part of the fun, especially when a team has spent the last nine years winning at a high level. But one of the most interesting “what ifs” goes all the way back 20 years, to the 2006 MLB trade deadline, when Milwaukee sent Nelson Cruz and Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers for Laynce Nix, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, and Julian Cordero.
Cruz was already a familiar name inside the Brewers’ system, even if he was still stuck in the minors at the time of the deal. He had bounced around a few organizations, though all of that movement came while he was still in the minor leagues. Milwaukee had a crowded outfield picture, with Lee, Brady Clark, Geoff Jenkins, and a young Corey Hart all in the mix.
Cruz did make his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2005, but he never got steady run there. His real breakout didn’t come until 2009 with Texas, when he was first nominated for an All-Star Game.
Before that, he had already flashed what was coming. In 2008, he played in 31 games for the Rangers and put together a .330 average with a .421 on-base percentage, seven home runs, and 26 RBIs.
From there, the bat took off. After that first All-Star nod, Cruz followed with a season in which he hit above .300 and launched 22 home runs. He stayed with Texas through the 2013 season before signing with the Baltimore Orioles in the winter of 2014.
Looking back at the Brewers’ late-2000s and early-2010s teams, it’s fair to wonder what Cruz would have added. In 2007, Milwaukee came painfully close to its first playoff appearance in 25 years before blowing an 8.5-game lead in mid-August.
Hart was already producing, hitting .295 with 24 home runs, and the outfield wasn’t the weak spot. If Cruz had been there too, it would have changed the look of the lineup, even if he was still more of a bench piece at that stage.
The same idea applies to 2009, when the Brewers slipped after a strong stretch in the previous couple of seasons. The offense still had plenty going for it.
Ryan Braun had a huge year, Hart remained steady, and Mike Cameron was a bit better than he had been the year before. Even then, adding Cruz to replace Hart or Cameron would have been a meaningful boost.
By 2010, Milwaukee again had no real shortage of outfield options. Jim Edmonds was on the bench, Carlos Gomez was young, and Braun and Hart were holding down the corners.
In that stretch, the Brewers’ bigger issue was not the bats in the outfield. It was the pitching staff.
So while Cruz is easy to imagine in a Brewers uniform during those years, the larger picture probably doesn’t change much. Milwaukee already had quality outfield production. The trade was about clearing space and reshaping the roster for what came later.
In Other News...
Brewers Finally Have A Better Sense Of Sal Frelicks Return
Sal Frelicks shoulder issue has given the Brewers a little more pause than they would have liked, but the picture is clearer now after the outfielder received a cortisone injection last week. Milwaukee said the soreness is in his right shoulder, and the club has been careful not to push him back too quickly while the team continues to enjoy a strong season.
Frelick has been out since leaving the Brewers first game after the All-Star break against the Marlins, and the wait has stretched long enough to make his absence a real part of the clubs outfield planning. For now, the Brewers are taking the patient route, with his return still projected for early to mid-August and no reason to force the issue before he is ready. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A New October Threat To Worry About
The Brewers are already being sized up as a serious player in the Tarik Skubal market, and that alone says plenty about how they view the next phase of their roster. Skubal has been one of the most appealing arms on the board, with a 2.70 ERA and 3.0 bWAR in 15 starts this season, and Milwaukees interest fits a front office that has shown it is willing to think big when a difference-maker comes into view.
There will be no shortage of competition, either, with the Dodgers, Yankees, Braves and Rays all expected to check in. For Milwaukee, the appeal goes beyond simply adding another frontline starter. The idea is to build something sturdier for October, potentially pairing Skubal with Jacob Misiorowski and giving the Brewers a kind of one-two punch that could change the way a future matchup with Los Angeles feels. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Suddenly Face A Bigger Lineup Question Than Fans Expected
A rough start to the West Coast trip arrived before the Brewers even took the field, with a long travel delay pushing back their arrival in California and adding another layer of inconvenience to a road swing that already had enough going on. The bigger concern, though, is the shape of the roster in the coming weeks, with Milwaukee still waiting on outfielder Sal Frelick as he works back from a shoulder injury and the club trying to navigate the outfield and bench mix without losing too much flexibility.
Frelick is expected back in early to mid-August, though a rehab assignment still appears likely before he can rejoin the lineup. In the meantime, the Brewers are sorting through the edges of the roster and the lineup card, where every available bat matters and every decision seems to have a ripple effect. The next few weeks should tell whether Milwaukee can hold things together until Frelick returns, or whether the club needs to keep adjusting on the fly. [Read more 🡒]