The Milwaukee Brewers have too many outfielders for the playing time they can offer, and Sal Frelick is one of the names that could be affected. One easy way forward would be to move him into a super utility role, giving the club another path to fit a crowded roster before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
That matters now because the Brewers are carrying Jackson Chourio, Luis Lara, Garrett Mitchell, Frelick, Jake Bauers and Christian Yelich, with Yelich mainly serving as a designated hitter. With that much overlap, it is hard to find enough at-bats and innings for everyone unless someone changes jobs or leaves the roster.
Jeff Passan put Garrett Mitchell in the spotlight on Thursday, calling him a dream match for the Cleveland Guardians and pairing him with the idea that Milwaukee could listen if the right deal came along. Passan also wrote that the Brewers are not shopping Mitchell, even though Cleveland has enough in its farm system to tempt them and Milwaukee still wants another elite starting pitcher.
That is the part that keeps this from looking simple. The Brewers can say they have too many outfielders, but they are not treating every outfielder the same way, and Mitchell is the clearest example. If the Guardians could pry away someone like Tanner Bibee, Passan wrote, then a trade would make sense for Cleveland. Short of that, Milwaukee may be more likely to solve the logjam by moving Frelick around the diamond instead of breaking up the group.
So the question inside the clubhouse is not just whether the Brewers will trade an outfielder before Aug. 3. It is whether Frelick becomes the flexible answer to a roster problem that has been building in plain sight.
