Milwaukee, WI
SF Giants made a “late play” for new Milwaukee Brewers first baseman
The Milwaukee Brewers made a big splash earlier this week, signing Rhys Hoskins to a two-year contract with a mutual option for a third season. This deal includes an opt-out clause after the first year. Before he signed, the SF Giants made a “late play” for Hoskins according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
Adding Hoskins would have been an imperfect fit for San Francisco. That said, many of the position players in free agency are imperfect fits, so it is a tough market to upgrade the roster. Realistically, the opportunity to bolster the roster should have been done in the prior two offseasons.
It bears mentioning that the Hoskins deal is very much in the Giants wheelhouse in terms of risk tolerance. It is not a long-term deal but gives the player a chance to re-enter free agency after the 2024 season if he performs. There is an incentive for Hoskins to perform well in 2024.
If this deal sounds familiar, it is not too dissimilar to the two-year, $36 million pact Michael Conforto signed with San Francisco last offseason. Like Hoskins, Conforto missed an entire season before inking a new deal, so there is some risk with how a player responds after such a long layoff. Conforto seemed a little rusty in the early going last year and was unable to reproduce the numbers from earlier in his career. The Brewers hope that it is a different outcome for Hoskins.
At the beginning of the month, we looked at whether Hoskins was a fit for the Giants. I should preface this by saying that his bat makes just about every lineup better. The right-handed hitter has tallied an .846 OPS with a 13.5 percent walk rate while reaching at least 20 home runs in four of six seasons.
The Giants badly need that type of production. The offensive fit is not the issue. The issue is where to play him on defense. The 30-year-old should only see time at first base and DH. He has experience in the outfield, but he has not appeared there since the 2018 season. There is a good reason for that.
Of course, the Giants already are covered at both first base and DH. Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. will share duties at first base, whereas those two will likely see time at DH along with Conforto. Without moving any of those three, there are just not that many at-bats for adding someone like Hoskins. The front office knows this too, so signing the veteran first baseman would have likely resulted led to a corresponding move.
As currently constructed, the Giants’ roster is lacking in athleticism and versatility. Adding Hoskins would have not helped in that regard.
I can understand why the Giants targeted Hoskins before he signed. Offensively, he checks off a lot of boxes that they like and on contract terms that they covet. They were not as serious of a suitor as Milwaukee, but it is hard to make the case that it would have been a good fit on a roster that is already defensively limited and too slow.
The Milwaukee Brewers were one of the more active teams in the league this offseason and it was one of the more shocking storylines to follow all winter.
They opted to trade Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, which was a blockbuster deal, but it was expected. Peralta was on an expiring contract, and the Brewers were unlikely to be able to land a long-term deal with him. Milwaukee would much rather have control of Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams for the next five to seven years rather than a singular year of Peralta.
But they also traded Isaac Collins to the Kansas City Royals and Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox. The Collins deal was a head scratcher, but the Durbin deal was the most shocking move of Milwaukee’s offseason.
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The Brewers traded Durbin and two other infielders to Boston in exchange for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, and Shane Drohan. Harrison is the biggest addition of the trade. Drohan has already flashed dominant potential this spring. Hamilton, who struggled last season, seemingly has the full belief of Brewers manager Pat Murphy.
David Hamilton could soon become a star for the Brewers
“He’s got so much ability in there, and he’s got experience, and he might be a utility player but I think he can be really good for us. I think he can take his offensive game to a whole other level,” Murphy said when talking about Hamilton, per Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy.
Last season, Hamilton slashed .198/.257/.333 with a .590 OPS and a 63 OPS+. It was his third year in the big leagues and his second full year at the level and he’s yet to post an OPS+ over 100. But he’s still been worth 3.6 WAR over the last two years because of his defense and baserunning. The issue has been his bat. Even when he hit .248 in 2024, his OPS was under .700.
But Murphy seemingly believes Hamilton could take the next step at the plate, which would set him up to be a very good platoon infielder and versatile bat. He has the chance to quietly develop into a star with the Brewers if he can get his OPS over .700 and closer to .750. Obviously, this isn’t going to be easy, but Murphy seems to believe he’s closer to this breakout than many fans assume.
MILWAUKEE – Landmark Credit Union Live, Milwaukee’s newest concert venue, opened its doors on Friday. And with the Bucks playing next door at the same time, the whole area was hopping.
What they’re saying:
Fans flocked to Fiserv Forum to watch the team play the New York Knicks, and music lovers stood in line to see Rainbow Kitten Surprise on the opening night of Landmark Credit Union Live.
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“Very busy, very crowded the bars and restaurants,” said Ashley Evans. “That’d be great to add to the city again, to continue to bring more tourists out.”
“This is going to be amazing. I’ve been wanting to see them for a very long time, so I’m very excited,” said Rachel Lococo.
Fans line up for the official opening of Landmark Credit Union Live
Landmark Credit Union Live can host up to 4,500 people. Friday night’s show was sold out, drawing fans from places like Chicago, Minnesota, Iowa and elsewhere.
“Some people have driven from Indiana, so there’s a lot of people coming out tonight,” said Kade McCane, who came from Madison. “Honestly, really exciting to be among the first people who get to be there, and for RKS to be among the first people who will ever perform here, I hope this venue gets huge and big and becomes very popular.”
The excitement was felt all around Milwaukee. Even the competition rolled out the welcome mat.
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“Our goal to grow as a city means that a lot of things have to happen. This is the very, tiny, small work that has to happen,” said Gary Witt, president and CEO of The Pabst Theater Group, which runs six nearby venues.
“The introduction of any new business in the city, especially one that pays attention to the fact that we have spent 24 years growing the live culture economy in the city of Milwaukee, says to me that we’ve done our job.”
Witt said live entertainment is an industry Milwaukee’s economy has been dependent on coming from visitors like those who turned out Friday.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed the people in this story and referenced prior coverage related to the opening of Landmark Credit Union Live.
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