MLB Rumors: Brewers Look To Trade Former Cy Young Winner

The Milwaukee Brewers fell short in 2022. They were expected to be a playoff team, and were first place in the NL Central on August 1st. But it all fell apart after that, and the Brew Crew were on the outside looking in come the postseason. 

According to Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic, they will be active on the trade front this offseason. And could possibly trade former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. 

New Brewers general manager Matt Arnold might believe he has more of a chance to sign Burnes' fellow starting ace Brandon Woodruff to an extension, notes Rosenthal, thus leading to the possibility of trading Burnes instead. Both have two years of club control remaining. It's unlikely the Brewers could afford to re-sign both. 

Rosenthal also suggests that perhaps the Brewers feel that Burnes might not ever match his 2021 Cy Young performance again. 

It's not "might." The Brewers know that Burnes is never matching his 2021 season again. He had the best FIP since 1999 Pedro that year.https://t.co/vkiOMDc1ww pic.twitter.com/VFjXna70xM

— Jack Stern (@baseball7310) November 10, 2022

Nevertheless, Burnes has been an All-Star two years running now, coming off his Cy Young season with another impressive performance in 2022, posting a 2.94 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and a career-high (and National League-leading) 243 strikeouts against just 51 walks. 

Burnes is projected to earn over $11M in arbitration next season. 

The other pitcher they are thought to be looking at trading is Adrian Houser. He suffered a big dropoff in 2022, adding a run-and-a-half to his ERA at 4.73, while his WHIP suffered as well, jumping from 1.28 in '21 to 1.46 this season. He managed just 69 strikeouts in 102.2 innings. 

Photo: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports