The Brewers are MLB’s best underdog story; the trade market for first basemen

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The Brewers, against all odds, are a whole lot of fun. Plus, an interview adventure with Ken, an instant classic in Seattle and we have a trade deadline primer. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal, welcome to The Windup!

Surprise: The Brewers are good

Aug. 1, 2022 — Leading the NL Central by three games, Milwaukee trades closer Josh Hader. Hader makes the postseason with the Padres, but the Brewers go 22-31 after the trade, missing the playoffs.

Fall 2023 — After a bounce-back division win, Brewers lose former GM David Stearns to the Mets, then manager Craig Counsell defects to the hated Chicago Cubs.

Feb. 4, 2024 — Brewers trade their best starting pitcher, 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, to the Baltimore Orioles. It stands to reason that closer Devin Williams will be next to go.

March 28, 2024 — Williams hits the injured list with a stress fracture in his back.

Sounds like a recipe for a seven-game division lead on June 11, right?

The thing is, both of those trades worked out reasonably well for the Brewers. Of the four players from the Hader deal, only one — LHP Robert Gasser, who is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA — is still with the team. But Esteury Ruiz was part of the three-way trade that landed catcher William Contreras from the Braves. Contreras has been perhaps their best player ever since.

Meanwhile, Burnes is having a phenomenal season for the Brewers, but Joey Ortiz, whom they got in return, has been Milwaukee’s fourth-best player by bWAR (1.9) and is hitting .284/.379/.467 (.846 OPS).

Cody Stavenhagen has a deeper look at the Brewers’ success this year under “relentless” new manager Pat Murphy. The Brewers may be toiling in relative anonymity in baseball’s smallest market, but they’re playing fun baseball and might be the league’s best underdog story.

Ken’s Notebook: A glimpse into the TV star life

One of my podcast listeners had a question about something I did at the start of Saturday’s Fox broadcast of the Dodgers–Yankees game. “What happened when you had to run off the field quickly before first pitch? Lol,” Dave Lefkin (@dlefkin), asked on X.

Dave was paying attention. I indeed scampered off the field just before first pitch at Yankee Stadium, having just completed a live interview with Freddie Freeman in front of the Dodgers’ dugout.

We do this every so often — interview a player just as the first pitch is about to be thrown. It’s quite hairy, and Freeman got a bit panicked as the moment neared. I knew there was no way the game would start until after I spoke with Freeman. Our stage manager was instructed to hold the umpires, who understood what was happening.

“This is what we play for.”@Ken_Rosenthal caught up with Freddie Freeman before tonight’s star-studded matchup. pic.twitter.com/639FHjAsCm

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 8, 2024

Some fans hate these interviews, believing they add little value to the broadcast. Our feeling at Fox is that it gives viewers a glimpse into a player’s mindset just as the action is about to begin. I ran off the field into the nearest camera well — some of the Dodgers razzed me as I went by their dugout, all in good fun.

Country star Brad Paisley, whom I connected with while reporting with The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya for a story about the Dodgers’ wild offseason, saw the whole thing. Sitting behind the dugout, he texted me, saying, “Quit holding up the game! Haha.”

A far more embarrassing situation took place on the final weekend of last season, before a critical Rangers–Mariners game in Seattle. Similar circumstance, except that time I was giving a report. But something got mixed up with our timing, and as I spoke, the game was clearly delayed. The crowd started booing, and there was nothing I could do but finish my report. To use the players’ terminology, I had to “wear it.”

Even that report lasted only about 30 seconds. Later in the game, the Mariners’ in-house camera operator came by and said he wanted to show me live on the scoreboard. I said, “Please don’t.” He did. And the crowd booed again, this time even louder.

The Rangers got a good laugh out of it. Ah, the life of a television star!

Instant classic: Walk-off grand slam in Seattle

The White Sox have been horrendous this year. Maybe you’ve heard. But by the middle of the eighth inning last night, they were up 4-0 on the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners behind yet another strong outing by Erick Fedde, who is now — somehow, on a team that is 17-50 — 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA.

But the bottom of the eighth inning went: Home run, pitching change (Fedde to Michael Kopech and his triple-digit lava balls), single, walk, single to load the bases. The next two batters, Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh, struck out.

With two outs, Mitch Haniger hit a triple-digit 0-2 fastball to right field for a two-run single, then Luke Raley miraculously executed a bunt off of a 99 mph fastball that was a foot up and inside for a game-tying safety squeeze.

The White Sox made it interesting in the top of the ninth, putting two runners on before Ryne Stanek struck out Robert, and riled up the crowd with this excellent celebration:

It’s fortunate for the Mariners that Raleigh didn’t get ejected in the eighth inning, because after his teammates loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, Raleigh crushed a walk-off grand slam to end it. What a game.

More AL West: A few minutes after Cal’s blast, the Astros blew a 3-1 lead in the 10th inning, as Austin Slater of the Giants hit a ball off the left-field wall for a 4-3 walk-off.

How will the market for first basemen shake out?

The trade deadline is just 50 days away. Jim Bowden jumps in with both feet this morning, giving a practical cornucopia of trade speculation from his conversations with front office members and others.

But the most interesting angle for me? It’s gotta be the first base market. Consider this:

• The Astros are 30-37, but still just 6 1/2 games out in the AL West. They need starting pitching depth, but their production from the first base position has been abysmal — last night’s game was a prime example.

• Meanwhile, the Yankees have the best record in the American League, at 47-21, and look hungry for their first World Series title since 2009. But Anthony Rizzo is hitting just .224/.285/.339 (.623 OPS), and has found himself out of the starting lineup with more frequency of late.

That sounds like a bidding war to me. So, who are the candidates?

• Josh Bell of the Marlins would be an easy answer, but his .713 OPS isn’t exactly a slam-dunk upgrade. Same for Paul Goldschmidt (.656), even if the Cardinals hit another skid and become sellers.

• But how about the Mets, who aren’t remotely close in the NL East? They are just 3 1/2 games back in the NL Wild Card race, but there are six teams to leapfrog. Would they consider trading Pete Alonso?

• The most fascinating (and least likely) prospect, however, might be Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Similar to the Mets, the Blue Jays aren’t close in the division, but are only three games back in the AL Wild Card race. Could a rough June convince them to part ways with Guerrero if an extension can’t be reached? So far, the answer is no, but we’ll stay tuned.

More trade deadline: This week’s Power Rankings center on “one question for each team” as the deadline nears.

Handshakes and High Fives

Juan Soto (elbow discomfort) was back in the lineup for the Yankees last night and went 1-for-3 with a walk.

The Twins became the last team to reveal their City Connect jerseys.

It’ll be all eyes on Ohio next month, as the Guardians and Reds have the first two picks of the 2024 draft. Meanwhile, Keith Law breaks out the scouting notebook from the Virginia Super Regional.

Tim Kawakami has a proposal: The Giants should try to acquire Mike Trout.

You can buy tickets to every MLB game here.

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(Top photo of William Contreras: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)