4 trade targets from the Milwaukee Brewers for the Colorado Rockies

The Milwaukee Brewers are in a completely different area in the baseball world than the Colorado Rockies. From their inception in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, before future MLB Commissioner Bud Selig bought the Pilots and moved them to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1970, they had only been to the playoffs four times.

However, since 2018, they have made it to the playoffs four times alone, including getting to Game 7 of the NLCS in 2018. The Rockies, on the other hand, haven’t made it to the NLCS since 2007, which is their only time in the NLCS or World Series. They also last made the playoffs in 2018.

The Brewers, even with the Cardinals and Cubs trying to be competitive in the NL Central, still are the favorites for the division or, at least, a Wild Card spot.

The Rockies finished the 2021 season with a 74-87 record but they believe that they just “need more pieces” to be a playoff-contending team.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies are unlikely trade partners because of their circumstances.

With the differences, the Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers are not a match made in heaven for the Rockies being a buyer.

After the lockout ends, the Colorado Rockies need at least one power bat, an infielder (preferably a shortstop), at least one outfielder, and some bullpen help. Arguably, they also need some help in the starting rotation, another outfielder, and they need to make some trades or signings to help their depth as it is very thin nearly everywhere.

After all, there’s a reason why their Triple-A team finished with a .446 winning percentage and their Double-A team finished with a .331 winning percentage.

However, there are still four Milwaukee Brewers players that the Colorado Rockies should examine further as trade targets.

Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader could be a great fit for the Colorado Rockies

For the last 4+ years, Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader has been one of the best relievers in baseball and he could be a great fit for the Colorado Rockies.

Hader, who turns 28 just after Opening Day, has been an All-Star in each that he could be (2018-2019, 2021) and he has won the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award three times as well so he has quite a track record already in his young career. However, because of Milwaukee’s small market size and Hader being, arguably, the best reliever in baseball, he has been involved in plenty of trade rumors for years now.

In 2021, Hader appeared in 60 games and had 34 saves in 35 opportunities. He had a remarkable ERA of 1.23 and an ERA+ of 348. He also had a FIP of 1.69, a WHIP of 0.835, and he averaged 3.7 walks and 15.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

His worst season was in 2020 but he still had a 3.79 ERA with 13 saves (led the NL) with a WHIP of 0.947, and nearly 15 strikeouts per nine innings. That is the only season of his career with an ERA higher than 2.62.

One thing that may be troubling for the Rockies, on the surface is his low groundball rate, since groundball pitchers tend to succeed more at Coors Field. His groundball rate is only 28.3 percent but when you have a reliever that strikes out more than 15 batters per nine innings in his career (15.4 K/9, to be precise).

When the lockout ends, more trade rumors could arise for Hader since he has two years left until he becomes a free agent, if the current CBA stays as is with free agency. Rumors could be even more rampant if free agency is changed from six years of service time to five.

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Brent Suter could also be a fit for the Colorado Rockies

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Brent Suter has had some health issues in his career but for the last two years, he has been healthier after he missed the last two months of 2018 and nearly all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. He could provide the Colorado Rockies with a muchn-needed veteran left-handed reliever.

Suter, 31, was one of Milwaukee’s best relievers in 2021 as he appeared in 61 games (one start) and he had a 3.07 ERA (139 ERA+). In addition, he had a FIP of 3.91, a WHIP of 1.309, and he averaged 2.9 walks and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2020, he made 16 appearances (four starts) and he had a 3.13 ERA (146 ERA+) with a 3.00 FIP, a WHIP of 1.105, and an average of just 1.4 walks and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Suter could be an asset for the Rockies bullpen as since 2020, Suter’s groundball rate is around 52 percent. In 2021, his 51.9 percent groundball rate was 28th-highest among the 138 relievers with at least 50 innings pitched. That would be, by far, the highest rate in the Rockies bullpen.

Suter, who is the longest-tenured MLB player to come out of Harvard University in more than a century, is entering his second season of arbitration so, depending on how the new CBA unfolds, the Rockies could have one or two years of control with Suter.

Milwaukee Brewers starter Adrian Houser could be great with the Colorado Rockies

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Adrian Houser is a name that most Colorado Rockies fans probably aren’t familiar with. Of the Brewers rotation, you’ve probably heard of the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff, who was came in 5th in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2021 but Houser is lower in their rotation. He could still be an asset in the rotation for the Rockies.

Houser, who turns 29 next month, appeared in 28 games for the Brewers in 2021 (26 starts) and he had a 3.22 ERA (132 ERA+). He had a 4.33 FIP, a 1.279 WHIP, and he averaged four walks and 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

He struggled in 2020 (5.30 ERA in 12 games/11 starts) but in 2019, Houser made 35 appearances (18 starts) and he had a 3.72 ERA with an ERA+ of 120. He had a FIP of 3.88, a 1.240 WHIP, and he averaged three walks and 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

The thing that makes him intriguing for the Colorado Rockies is his groundball rate. He has had a groundball rate of 57 percent. Among pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched since 2019, that groundball rate is the highest among all 63 pitchers that qualified.

Houser is entering his first season of arbitration so the Rockies could have two or three years of control with him.

Our trade target series continues with the Pittsburgh Pirates next up on our list.