The Brewers’ search for a Trevor Megill trade partner just got a little trickier.
Detroit stepped in this week and signed former Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagán to a one-year deal, removing one possible destination from the market for Milwaukee’s own late-inning arm. It doesn’t shut the door on a Megill deal by any means, but it does take one team out of the mix as the reliever market starts to shift.
Megill looks like a strong candidate to move this offseason. He’s been excellent, but he’s also turning 33 next month and is projected to make about $8 million in his final year of arbitration next season, according to MLB Trade Rumors. For a Brewers club that has long been careful with its payroll, that’s a meaningful price tag for a reliever heading into a contract year - especially with Abner Uribe waiting behind him for the closer role.
There’s also a recent Milwaukee blueprint for this kind of move. Josh Hader and Devin Williams both established the model for elite Brewers closers being dealt with only a year or so left before free agency. Megill fits that same lane, and the front office has reason to think the market will be there.
His recent production backs that up. Over the last three seasons, Megill has posted 5.0 fWAR, more than every right-handed reliever except Mason Miller (8.2), Cade Smith (8.0) and Jhoan Duran (6.1). That puts him in rare company and suggests any team that lands him would be getting a high-end closer for 2027.
Detroit’s move could still ripple through the rest of the market. With Pagán no longer available, the reliever pool may begin to move faster before the looming lockout.
The Reds could theoretically emerge as a fit, since they need bullpen help and have a vacancy in the ninth inning, but it’s hard to see them paying the prospects and salary it would take for just one season of Megill. And Milwaukee has never shown much appetite for sending a win-now piece to a division rival.
So the likelier landing spots remain the same broad lanes: a mid-tier NL contender that doesn’t directly block the Brewers, or an AL club that stays out of Milwaukee’s path altogether.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Drew A Telling Line Around Two Key Players
The Brewers are drawing a clear distinction between two important pieces of their roster planning. William Contreras is expected to stay put, and Milwaukee has signaled it wants to work toward a contract extension with the catcher, a notable show of commitment for one of the teams most valuable everyday players. With his club option already exercised for 2027, the organization appears intent on keeping that part of the core intact rather than letting the situation drift.
Trevor Megill, meanwhile, is in a very different lane. Milwaukee is open to trade offers for the closer, even though his contract timeline is similar in the broad sense, with free agency looming after next season. The contrast says plenty about how the Brewers are weighing value, age, role and long-term control as they sort through the next phase of roster management, and it leaves one of their more important bullpen decisions hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
Brice Turang Just Earned Recognition Brewers Fans Will Love
Brice Turangs breakout season kept getting better this week, when the Baseball Writers Association of America announced he finished third in National League MVP voting. The Brewers second baseman collected 190 points after setting career highs in several statistical categories during the 2026 season, a strong sign of how far his game has come and how much his all-around play mattered in Milwaukees lineup.
Pat Murphy has already made it clear how valuable Turang was to the club, pointing to the steadiness and impact he brought every day. For a Brewers team that leans so heavily on consistency and defense up the middle, Turangs rise into the MVP conversation is the kind of recognition that resonates well beyond an individual award ballot. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Face A Tough Aaron Ashby Choice After Their Title Run
Aaron Ashbys postseason role gave the Brewers a real boost during their championship run, and it may have changed the conversation around his future. The left-hander was one of Milwaukees most reliable bullpen arms in October, working nine scoreless appearances as the club powered past the Tampa Bay Rays to win its first World Series title.
Now the question is whether the Brewers keep him in that relief lane or give him a chance to start next season. Former MLB GM Jim Bowden and Brewers GM Matt Arnold have both hinted at the possibility of a move into the rotation, but no decision has been made yet, leaving Milwaukee with one of its more interesting offseason calls. [Read more 🡒]