MLB Trade Deadline- 12 days and counting...

Keeping with the spirit of yesterday's post, I thought I'd take a look at another club in the NL Central that is in the mix to win it- the Milwaukee Brewers.

Biggest team need: Infield (SS)

Take a look around the diamond at a Brewers game- you've got NL MVP front-runner Prince Fielder at 1B, All-Star 2B Rickie Weeks, All-Star OF Ryan Braun, a power threat in OF Corey Hart, and a few other serviceable players.  Then you get to SS, and find the guy that might be the worst everyday player in the majors, Yuniesky Betancourt.

The Brewers have to win now.  Prince Fielder is likely on his way out via free agency.  The farm is bare after the team stripped the system to trade for Zach Grienke and Shawn Marcum.  They just brought in Francisco Rodriguez, who will also likely leave, being a free-agent after this season.  Trotting a guy out to short-stop everyday that probably shouldn't even be in the majors seems to run contradictory to the plan. 

Betancourt is hitting a mere .239 this season with only 30 RBI's, and a OPS of just .600.  His OPS ranks him near the bottom of MLB SS...not trying to be hard on the guy, but it's tough to have such a gaping hole in your lineup (the Brewers also have to deal with Casey McGehee and his sub .600 OPS) and be a contender. 

The good news is given who is manning position 6 right now, pretty much anything is an upgrade. 

Matt Meyers of ESPN.com floated out an interesting idea recently, suggesting the Brewers try to acquire Rafael Furcal from the Dodgers.  When you think about it, the deal makes perfect sense.  The Dodgers are desperate to cut payroll (Furcal makes $10 million this season, and then is a free-agent), and the Brewers have very little to give back talent-wise.  Given the awful shape the Dodgers are in (Furcal won't be the only player needing some change of address cards in LA), getting something in return from a team willing to take on Furcal's contract is a win. 

If the Brewers are able to pull the trigger on a deal to replace Betancourt at SS, and if Grienke is able to get the train back on the rails, the Brew-Crew easily becomes the team to beat in the NL Central.