Brewers' rumored Willy Adames replacement would be a colossal mistake

As much as the Milwaukee Brewers would love to re-sign Willy Adames, with how much money he's going to command in free agency, that probably is not likely. Even manager Pat Murphy made it pretty clear in a recent appearance on Foul Territory that if he were to return, it would be because he didn't get the kind of deal he's looking for.

Replacing Adames is going to be incredibly difficult for a Brewers team that is notoriously frugal when it comes to paying players. Joey Ortiz's likely move to shortstop opens the door for the Brewers to sign a difference-maker like Alex Bregman to play third base, but again, the Brewers are unlikely to spend what it'd take to bring Bregman to Milwaukee.

While the Brewers likely won't be able to replace Adames' production, they do need to do something to address the left side of their infield. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has Milwaukee doing just that, but his choice - Yoan Moncada - leaves a lot to be desired.

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Brewers must aim higher than Yoan Moncada to replace Willy Adames

Here's Feinsand's rationale in regard to the Brewers signing Moncada:

"Assuming that Willy Adames departs as a free agent, Joey Ortiz is likely to move to shortstop, creating a vacancy at third base. The free-agent options beyond Alex Bregman are mostly underwhelming, but Moncada -- who was limited by injuries to only 12 games in 2024 -- has shown the ability to produce and could be a great buy-low candidate"

Feinsand is right in saying that the third base options beyond Bregman are underwhelming, and Moncada being arguably the second-best option is a big reason why.

Moncada showed some of the top prospect promise he began his MLB career with during the 2019 season when he hit over .300, launched 25 home runs, and even received some MVP votes, but his career outside of that one clear outlier season has left a lot to be desired.

In the five years and 405 games he has played in since the 2019 campaign, the 29-year-old has slashed .244/.326/.395 with an average of nine home runs and 35 RBI per season. He has dealt with injuries in each of the last two seasons, but still - he has been nothing more than a league-average hitter when on the field, as his 99 OPS+ would suggest. A move from the Chicago White Sox to the Brewers might help, but would that slight bump be enough?

Moncada might offer some upside, given the fact that he did have one extraordinary year, but that was six seasons ago. He's a switch-hitter and would come relatively cheap, making him an ideal Brewers target, but he shouldn't be signed just because he's cheap. He has shown little promise since that breakout year.

Replacing Adames will be extremely tough, but given how bad the free agents are at the hot corner, they'd be better off trying to make a trade. It's tough to make the argument that the Brewers would be much better than they were this past season if they downgraded to that extent.