It Has NEVER Been More Clear... | Daily Milwaukee Brewers News & Rumors

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Hello and welcome to Brewers Daily, part of the Fan Arch podcast network. This episode is brought to you by Kelshy. Use promo code Fan Arch Baseball to get $10 when you trade 10. I'm Dave Gasper. We got to get into a whole lot of stuff here on a Friday show. The Brewers starting a series against the Houston Astros. Uh but also making some news across the off day in Major League Baseball. Were the players and the league trading their first salvos in the CBA collective bargaining agreement negotiations?

[00:00:32]This is the last year of the current collective bargaining agreement which means that after the season there's going to be a massive protracted fight and uh uh we'll see what ends up happening uh with that and what changes end up ultimately being made to the game. But we had a lockout 5 years ago uh and it lasted 99 days. didn't quite cost any regular season games, but it led to a much shorter spring training.

[00:00:58]Um, it led to completely zero baseball activity over the off seasonason. Uh, so completely changed how everything went.

[00:01:06]And, uh, we are looking at potentially much bigger changes this go around. So, let's get into a little bit of what these proposals had and what they could mean for the Milwaukee Brewers. So, let's start with the players. the players made theirs first on Wednesday.

[00:01:24]Uh the players proposal uh was interesting. Um it certainly was, you know, a player side of the things. They proposed basically doubling the league minimum salary from 780,000 to 1.5 million. Uh they proposed changes to revenue sharing that would guarantee every franchise at least $240 million in revenue every single year. uh so that that way any teams kind of complaining we don't have enough revenue uh to to spend on the team that that way they can ensure that they have enough there to spend on their roster. So that's a big part of it. Uh they came up with a soft floor essentially. We've been talking a lot about you know cap and floor uh type system uh that that could change this whole payroll disparity. And the players put forth a competitive integrity tax, kind of your counterbalance to the competitive balance tax on the high end of things that that tax the high spenders. It would be something that would tax the low spenders and force them to spend $150 million a year on payroll. Now, the Brewers currently are sitting at about $130 million in payroll for this year's team. So, in order to not have to pay that luxury or that competitive balance tax, uh competitive integrity tax, excuse me, uh they would have to spend an additional 20 million uh essentially on players. Uh so that that's how the Brewers would get to that threshold. Uh they also proposed increasing the first luxury tax threshold, the competitive balance tax threshold from $244 million to $300 million. Um, so that would just lead to a whole bunch more money for the Dodgers to sign away and and steal a whole bunch of star players in free agency. That that would just allow them to to bring more there and have less of it be taxed on the competitive balance thing. So, um, it would essentially leave a $150 million window where teams uh can spend their payroll without being taxed. So, that's a pretty wide gap. Um, and frankly, I don't think it would do all that much to shorten the the payroll disparity that we are looking at here in Major League Baseball between the Brewers and the Dodgers and and things like that. Uh, how how this whole thing has gotten out of whack. It it brings the floor up a little bit, force some teams to spend more. Uh, but it also would just encourage more and more from uh your big market clubs, penalize them a whole lot less, and it would not functionally do much. I I don't think to change the the disparity here and the unequal playing field that you have in Major League Baseball. Yes, they proposed increased revenue sharing um that that could help out teams like the Brewers, but ultimately uh it I don't think it would necessarily lead to much actual uh change. Um so that the part of the revenue sharing difference is going to be on local TV money. every team contributes $50 million and then twothirds of whatever remains goes into a shared pool that would be distributed equally.

[00:04:39]Um so yeah that they also wanted to expand the pre bonus pool from $50 million to $180 million.

[00:04:50]That's quite the jump. Um and increasing every year after that.

[00:04:56]I'm not so sure that's going to end up uh being the case. uh but you know looking for increases to that. They they introduced that pre-arm bonus pool in the last CBA um and now they're looking to increase that money for the guys who are you know coming up as rookies and performing well on league minimum deals uh for their team so that they at least get some sort of compensation for that.

[00:05:17]Meanwhile, on the flip side, the league came in and they had a hard cap and floor. First time proposing it since 1994.

[00:05:28]And if you're of a certain age, you remember how poorly that went. Uh if you're not of a certain age, back in 1994, the league proposed to cap. It led to the players going on strike in the middle of the season, the World Series being cancelled, um and a whole lot of damage and destruction was brought to Major League Baseball because of that fight in 1994. So, the owners uh seem unified this time around and they seem ready to go for a cap and floor fight and they come in with a salary cap of just over $245 million and they come in with a floor of $171 million ju just over that. Now, that does include player benefits. Uh, so in reality the the salary floor is going to be uh about 20 million or so. I think I saw $23 million lower. So it still kind of ends up right around that $150 million mark um in w with it including player benefits in terms of functional payroll and salary uh being being the floor there uh for the roster. But still, the fact that the league is initially coming in with a floor of 171 million that by the looks of it is higher than what the players were proposing for a salary floor. I think that says quite a bit and first and I do think it will lead to a salary floor uh measure of some kind once this is all said and done because both sides want something like that. the the league wants to put in a hard floor. The the the players want to put in a soft floor.

[00:07:20]And either way, I think that is going to lead to teams such as the Milwaukee Brewers having to pay more to guys in salary because I mean, they're going to look around like, look, how are we going to add this much money to to the roster to the payroll here with with what they have? that could lead to more extensions potentially younger that that could lead to perhaps signing some of these guys reaching for agency rather than uh you know trading them away for for a bunch of of younger players.

[00:07:51]Um MLB is is trying to centralize all of their local TV revenue so it's not just oh the Brewers only get 10 million for their local TV rights deal. The Dodgers get 330 million every single year and there's no way the Brewers can make up that difference. Now that revenue is kind of getting taken all into MLB's central pot and every team's going to end up getting the same similar to what the NFL does. So that is um that is something that I I think makes a whole lot of sense that MLB has been trying to look to do. you know, obviously the players not big fans of of the cap and floor system and they spoke out against it and there's they're going to be trading the jabs and, you know, I I think ultimately if there is going to end up being a cap and floor, they're going to have to increase that a little bit in terms of, you know, what their initial offer is. Uh because the the luxury tax currently sitting at 244 um and the cap coming in at 245 uh players are going to want a much bigger increase in that. I mean they proposed luxury tax going up to 300. So there's going to have to be some upward mobility probably uh in that hard salary cap figure.

[00:09:09]Perhaps there will be some in the floor figure as well because again, if that cap and floor are too far apart, it's not going to functionally do as much as everyone's hoping for uh for that competitive balance. So, they're they're going to have to try and find a way to to tighten that up. Um you know, maybe you have it be the 171 million without benefits included for that salary. I don't know. Obviously, they're still going to get benefits. They're still going to get their health insurance, all that fun stuff. But still, um it is it is the opening salvos here. Um, and obviously the the two sides are going to be very far apart. This is going to take until next February, March at the earliest before this is done because again, it is going to take a long time for the players to come around to an idea of a cap um and be open to to getting it. And honestly, it's also probably going to take a lot of concessions from Major League Baseball on other areas in order to get them to agree to a cap. It's going to take reaching free agency after 5 years uh almost being guaranteed. It's going to take arbitration after two uh most likely being guaranteed. So, you're going to have this give and take here.

[00:10:17]But both sides have basically dug in and kind of shown their cards of where they are currently at uh with this situation.

[00:10:25]the fact that MLB is coming in at such a high salary floor, a higher one than the players proposed. Um, that that says quite a bit uh about how serious MLB is about this and and how much they they know that it's going to be necessary and also perhaps how much money that they know they have coming in and some of those guys that have been crying poor uh for the last couple years that maybe they haven't been quite as poor. uh but still with the way that they're planning to to share revenue uh more equally across the entire league kind of similar to what you know the NBA the NFL and those kinds of leagues do um the fact that they are that they are looking to do that and that is in their first proposal the the fact that enough owners are on board for that I think it does say quite a bit um about how serious the owners are about making these kinds of changes and we'll see if ultimately it leads to anything but uh it is uh you know I think there are some good starting points. I think both sides have pretty good ideas in their proposals and it's just going to be a matter of negotiating and and finding the best stuff. You know finding some sort of middle ground as well um and making changes as as things go along. So we shall see. But these were the first salvos here in late May. And this is going to continue off and on throughout the summer and then really kick off once we get into the off season.

[00:11:51]But we're not quite at the off seasonason yet because baseball season is here and now and you can trade every single game on Kelshi. The Brewers taking on the Houston Astros here tonight.

[00:12:03]And I'm looking on Kelshi here and again we've been talking about this kind of all week. The Brewers by one and a half runs and the Brewers had done a pretty good job of taking care of business on that. only had the the one-run victory uh there on on Wednesday, but the Astros have been much worse than the St. Louis Cardinals this season. So, if you think the Brewers are going to be able to win by one and a half runs over the Houston Astros, that is currently trading at 41% on Kelshi, meaning a $100 trade pays out $234 with a win. I could do so much with that right now. Uh but I I think that's a you know certainly fair uh fair percentage there and a lot you could lock you could certainly do with that. So on cashier you're trading against peers in a live market meaning that there's no house and as the probability changes you can buy in and out of your position for a limited time.

[00:13:02]Use this promo code fan arch baseball right down here and get $10 when you trade 10. K A L S hi Kelchi trade on anything. Okay, now looking at this Brewers team getting out of the CBA talk there and you know out of out of those weeds and and things like that. Sal Freelick is having a down year and it it's kind of concerning to to me a little bit because South Frick I mean he's not going to be a a real big power hitter. We we kind of knew that despite him hitting the first home run of the season for the Brewers this year.

[00:13:41]But we are two months into the season.

[00:13:44]we are past Memorial Day, which is, you know, a benchmark, excuse me, in Major League Baseball.

[00:13:52]It's like, okay, you're far enough into the season, you can start to kind of make some decisions, make some assessments. It's no longer just a slow start at this point. You're you're over two months in now. Of course, when I mentioned that to Pat Murphy, he said, yeah, for you guys, I mean, we're we're not worried about Memorial Day and these kinds of what whatever benchmarks. Uh we're always under construction and we're just kind of working, you know, getting better, things like that. So, of course, Pat Murphy is going to say it that way, but still, we're two months in and Sal Felic has a 590 OPS. He's hitting 217.

[00:14:25]He has an OPS plus of 68. The these are the worst marks of his career that Alfie has had. I mean, he the the three years prior to this, you know, and he came up kind of mid-season in 2023, but even still, the lowest numbers that he's put, I mean, his lowest ever batting average in a season was 246. Um, his lowest on base percentage was 320. His lowest slugging was 335.

[00:14:53]And this year, he's hitting 217, a 289 on base, a 301 slug.

[00:15:00]He has just five doubles. He He has eight total extra base hits, five doubles, three homers. That that's all he's got. It's been a lot of singles. Um and it's been a lot of soft contact really. Um and not being able to find the success at the plate. Now, South Frick has been a mainstay in this lineup for the past couple years. Provides great defense out there in right field.

[00:15:21]Gold glove defense uh in right field.

[00:15:24]Pat Murphy loves him for that. But again, he is not hitting the ball hard and he is just having a really rough season at the plate. I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure what's gotten into it, what what the cause of it is, but Sal Frillic has just not gotten going. And as much as the Brewers love him, you know, it does raise a lot of concerns for this line because he's kind of been a part of that bottom of the order uh that's been really struggling, especially when he's been a contributor for the past couple years that you've been expecting a whole lot more out of offensively. He is a contact skills bat-toball kind of guy. Now, obviously, you know, Garrett Mitchell also in the outfield, little bit different in terms of skill set. You know, he's going to strike out a whole lot more and he has struck out a whole lot more. Uh but he has the power. He hits the ball hard a ton. Um and he's been able to do some damage with it, especially over the last nine games. Uh Garrett Mitchell has been fantastic over the last nine games, even with like a 33% strikeout rate. So then you have Sal Frick who hasn't been striking out as much, but he's just been hitting the ball softly, grounding out, popping out, whatever else, hasn't been able to really be all that productive. I mean, he missed a major opportunity there in the eighth inning of the game on Wednesday. That should have been him that came through. It was not. He had the situation, too. Grounded out to first, and it ended up being Christian Yellish that ends up coming through. So Sal Frick, as much as Garrett Mitchell kind of gets piled on for the strikeouts, as much as Joe Ortiz and Luis Ran Heo get get piled on and David Hamilton gets piled on for their lack of offensive production, I think we also got to look at Sal Felic as well and and his lack of production at the plate here. A 590 OPS for I mean Felix's never really been a super high OPS guy, but last year had a 756 OPS. I mean, that that was pretty strong. That was above league average, 111 OPS plus.

[00:17:28]You know, he was kind of buoied by the 12 home runs uh that he inexplicably had uh with with that kind of power surge last year, but still Freelick hit.288 last year. He was a consistent hitter getting on base all the time. Um and this year that has just simply not been the case. Um, part of that could be luck, you know, just with being the the soft contact bet, you know, relying on that bat to ball kind of thing. Um, you're kind of more badip reliant uh for for a guy like that, which I mean that that can fluctuate uh from year to year um in terms of your batting average on balls in play. Uh and and this year it is really bad. So the so Felix's bad this year is 228 which is really low.

[00:18:21]Last year his bad was 317 which you know is like I mean compared to 228 it's really high but like it it's also not insanely high for for a for batting average on balls in play. His career Babip is 298 and he's at 228 this year. So, it has been really really bad luck in that sense uh for Sal Felic um on Babbot, but it also hasn't been great quality of contact. I mean, that that goes into it as well. I mean, as much as you you can say it's luck and for some of those instances, it is some of those instances it's right to a guy or he ends up making a diving great play. Mason Win, I mean, he self South Salic should have had a single up the middle against the Cardinals in in the fifth inning. Mason Win ranges over past second base on the other side, gets up, fires a dart to first base to just get Felick in time. Most other short stops, that's a base hit for Sal Felic.

[00:19:18]Instead, it's an out. So, you do have those instances, but it it is dropped quite significantly. The quality of contact here for Sal Felic has not been great. Fifth percentile hard hit percentage, 9th percentile barrel percentage. Uh the the bat speed incredibly low sixth percentile. Uh the average exit velocity 85 miles an hour that's sixth percentile. Uh so he has not been making the greatest contact uh this season and that is leading to uh that low Babip and that is leading to the poor results at the plate for Sal.

[00:19:55]So hopefully he can get that figured out uh fairly soon here. And then uh looking ahead here to the Houston Astros series uh that the Brewers have coming up.

[00:20:05]Coleman Crow is going to be getting the start in this one on on Friday here. And we knew Coleman Crow, I mean he came up during the home stand when Robert Gasser uh or actually when Logan Henderson got um placed on the IIL. But Coleman Crows had two really good starts. He's looking to have a third one here. He's going against Kaiwi Tang for the Astros. a right-hander 219 erra on the season. On Saturday, it's going to be Brandon Sprrot on the mound for the crew against Peter Lambert for the Astros. Lambert, a right-hander, 379 ERA.

[00:20:41]And then on Sunday, uh your Sunday uh matinea basically, I mean, big- time showing.

[00:20:49]Jacob Misowski is going to get the finale here against Tatuya Emi, uh the right-hander for the Astros. Now, Amay has had a horrible season in his first year in Major League Baseball coming over from Japan, but he was a big part of their combined no hitter last time out for him. So, perhaps he has figured some things out, but we shall see. Um, and he'll be going against the fireballer, Jacob Miserowski, on Sunday.

[00:21:14]So, this is going to be a very fun series. The Houston Astros obviously have Yordon Alvarez as one of the most feared hitters in baseball. He is just insanely good. Um, but yeah, you got Jordan Alvarez in the middle of that lineup. Uh, you got Isach Parades who we talked about a lot as a trade candidate back in the offseason. Jeremy Pñena over there. Uh, Christian Walker. Uh, but you know, the the Astros, they're currently sitting in fourth place in that AL West.

[00:21:44]They're 26 and 32. And it they just haven't been as good as we've seen them in years past because I mean that roster is is aging uh quite a bit more.

[00:21:55]Jose Altuve on the IIL with an oblique strain. Carlos Koreah on the IIL. Uh so you know two of their big names have not been there uh for that club as well. And also they have six starting pitchers on the injured list. Uh that that leads to some problems uh there. Hunter Brown, Christian Javier, Lance McCullers. uh you know, they they've got a bunch of guys out, which is why you're seeing a Kaiwe Tang and a Peter Lambert uh pitching uh for for the Astros here. So, uh it's going to be a fun series. You got three games here in Houston before the Brewers return right back home uh on Monday to take on the Giants. And we'll be breaking it all down on Monday, what happened in the series and looking ahead to that Giant series as well. So, be sure to subscribe to Brewers Daily if you haven't already and uh get notified every single time a new episode drops.

[00:22:48]Follow me on Twitter, DGASPER24.

[00:22:51]Appreciate all of you watching and listening and we'll see you again next time for another episode of Brewers Daily.