The Brewers are sitting in a pretty good spot after winning the 2026 World Series, which is exactly why this kind of move makes sense: not because Milwaukee has a glaring problem, but because it has the chance to turn a strength into something even nastier.
If the club wants to add another starter, the trade market looks like the cleanest path. Dustin May helped down the stretch after Milwaukee brought him in this past summer, but he’s now a free agent.
That leaves the Brewers in the market for a cost-controlled arm, and Seattle could be the team to watch. On Wednesday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported that George Kirby and Emerson Hancock are the two most likely hurlers to be on the move if the Mariners deal a starter.
“Even after trading [Luis Castillo], the Mariners had discussions with other teams ahead of the deadline about George Kirby and Emerson Hancock, who are viewed as the two most likely starters to be moved this winter,” Jude wrote.
Kirby is the name that jumps off the page for Milwaukee. The Brewers already have Jacob Misiorowski, who is being billed as the best pitcher in baseball, and pairing him with Kirby would give them a frightening top end.
Milwaukee has already shown it’s willing to dangle real prospect capital, too, after offering No. 2 prospect Luis Pena, No. 3 prospect Josh Adamczewski and No. 10 prospect Jett Williams to the Detroit Tigers for Tarik Skubal before coming up short. Kirby should cost less.
One mock deal has the Brewers sending Jett Williams, Luke Adams and Tyson Hardin to Seattle.
Mariners Receive: INF/OF Jett Williams (MIL’s No. 10 prospect), INF Luke Adams (MIL’s No. 13 prospect), RHP Tyson Hardin (MIL’s No. 7 prospect)
For Milwaukee, the payoff would be obvious. Kirby would give the Brewers another starter with front-of-the-rotation upside, and he’s still only 28 with two seasons of team control left.
His 2026 season wasn’t his sharpest. Kirby posted a 4.33 ERA in 30 starts, though his 3.90 FIP points to the defense behind him not doing him many favors. Even with that dip, he still owns a 3.74 career ERA across five major league seasons and 142 starts.
Seattle would be getting a package built around upside and proximity. Williams is the kind of elite prospect who could step in at the hot corner right away on Opening Day.
Adams, 22, is already knocking on the door after a strong minor league season in which he hit 16 home runs and drove in 43 runs in 71 games, spending most of the year in Triple-A. Hardin, 24, also reached Triple-A in 2026 and brings the kind of arm that could develop into something more.
Milwaukee doesn’t have to swing big to stay in the mix in 2027. But if the Brewers want to make a rotation with Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Kyle Harrison and Kirby, that group would be hard to top.
And if Brandon Woodruff comes back, it only gets better. The Brewers have the prospect depth to pull it off - they just need to pick up the phone and call Seattle.
In Other News...
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The one note that still hangs over the club is Matt Brash, who is recovering from lat strains and has not yet resumed throwing baseballs. For a Mariners team that has spent the offseason trying to line up its depth and keep the roster on track for spring, his timeline remains the most important unanswered piece, even with the rest of the injury picture looking more encouraging than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes the decision trickier is that it is not just about plugging one hole, but about how the infield is going to be arranged around it. The Mariners are trying to balance power, glove work and long-term roster development all at once, and the ripple effects could extend beyond third base as they sort through the next phase of their lineup construction. [Read more 🡒]
Cole Youngs Rise Could Complicate One Intriguing Mariners Fit
The Mariners offseason roster puzzle has already started to take shape around infield versatility, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one of the more intriguing names in the mix. Seattle has been sorting through ways to add impact without boxing itself in, and Chisholms recent playing history gives the club a potential multi-position answer if it wants more athleticism and left-handed pop in the lineup.
Cole Youngs rise only adds another layer to that discussion, because every internal step forward changes how aggressively the Mariners can shop outside the organization. Brendan Donovan, Teruaki Sato and Luis Arrez have also surfaced in the broader planning conversation, but nothing has been decided yet, which leaves Seattle weighing fit, cost and flexibility before the market really settles in. [Read more 🡒]