Rhys Hoskins remains confident in Brewers vision despite 'surprise' Corbin Burnes trade

It felt rather obvious that this was going to be Corbin Burnes' last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. There was almost no chance that the Brewers would be able to meet his lofty asking price, and given their fractured relationship from a past arbitration hearing, it's unclear as to whether Burnes even wanted to be there long-term.

While his long-term future with the organization was very much in doubt, it felt like Burnes was almost a lock to at the very least start the season leading Milwaukee's rotation. Yes, the Brewers lost Brandon Woodruff but were still determined to make one final push with Burnes, one of the best pitchers in baseball, leading the charge. Bringing in Rhys Hoskins on a one-year deal only reaffirmed that belief. Or so we thought.

Just about a week after Hoskins was signed, the Brewers shocked the baseball world by shipping Burnes to Baltimore. A Burnes trade at some point felt like a realistic possibility, especially if the Brewers were out of postseason contention by the trade deadline, but seeing Burnes get dealt before the season even began for a package that appeared to be relatively light was surprising not only to the MLB world but to Hoskins himself. Milwaukee's first baseman shared his thoughts on the trade on the Foul Territory podcast.

While Rhys Hoskins was surprised to see Corbin Burnes get traded, he believes in the Brewers' vision

"When I signed it was my understanding that the guys that we had, we were gonna give at least one more go of it. For this season, we had a couple of impending free agents, Corbin was one of those."

The Brewers sold Hoskins on Milwaukee by saying they were going to give it one more go and then almost immediately flipped their best player. Ouch.

Hoskins had reason to believe that this Brewers team was capable of making some noise this season if Burnes was there. While the Brewers were swept in the Wild Card Round last season, they did win 92 games thanks in large part to their pitching staff. Losing Woodruff is a big deal, but they still had Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and a loaded bullpen. Losing Burnes is a hit that could be too big to recover from for this season, the lone season Hoskins has on his contract.

Despite the team trading away its best player after selling him on a vision that included Burnes, Hoskins seems to be thinking positively.

"Yeah, I was surprised to see Corbin go, but at the end of the day, the Brewers have a pretty successful recipe on how to win and how to win consistently over the long term... Obviously, you never want to see a bonafide ace leave your staff, but in order to have sustained success here in a smaller market those are the types of moves that have to happen."

Hoskins hits the nail on the head here. The Brewers, being the small market team that they are, create long-term success by making deals like these. They're unpopular, obviously, but acquiring cost-controlled players like Joey Ortiz and DL Hall as part of this deal gives them two players they view as impactful for the next half-decade at least, while they would've only had Burnes for one more year.

The Brewers have earned the trust of their fanbase and players because of their consistent success. They've made the postseason in five of the last six years and the one season they didn't make it, 2022, saw them finish with an 86-76 record.

Of course, it's unfortunate that the Brewers traded their ace, but they might be better off in the future because of it. Hoskins understands that. As for 2024, Milwaukee happens to have won six of its first eight games this season. They might make a push for a playoff spot with Hoskins playing a pivotal role.