Report: Brewers dangling Santana, Phillips for starting pitcher
Things are happening.
In the aftermath of acquiring Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain on Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers are looking to address their surplus of outfielders and are shopping Domingo Santana and Brett Phillips in hopes of adding a starting pitcher, according to USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale.
The Brewers' desire for pitching help has not been a secret after reportedly offering Yu Darvish a contract offer in the last week. That comes not long after jumping into the race for former archrival Jake Arrieta.
It appears Santana is the odd man out, and it could be a boon for whichever club lands him. The 25-year-old has not yet entered his arbitration years, and is under team control until 2022. He broke out in a big way in 2017, when he hit .278/.371/.505 with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs.
Related: Can the Brewers land Darvish, Yelich, and Archer?
Phillips isn't an afterthought, either. He made his MLB debut in 2017, and hit .276/.351/.448 with four home runs in 37 games. He also swatted 19 long balls with a slash line of .305/.377/.567 across 105 Triple-A contests.
With ace starter Jimmy Nelson possibly set to miss the start of the season - though his recovery may be ahead of schedule - improving the rotation is imperative. The Brewers have signed Jhoulys Chacin and Yovani Gallardo, but that does not preclude further moves to bolster the pitching staff.
In an offseason that has seen very little traction to date, the Brewers have made the most noise since the calendar turned and are poised to be a real threat in the NL Central.