While the Brewers haven’t hit the quite the same type of offensive swoon as they did after the All-Star break last year, it was still pretty clear something had to be done. Despite playing more games than anyone else in baseball to this point in the season, Milwaukee still ranked 17th in baseball in runs scored and 9th in the National League — virtually tied with disappointing clubs like St. Louis and Washington, and significantly better than only San Francisco, New York, Miami and San Diego.
Catcher, shortstop and second base were all significant weak spots in the lineup, but second is where it seemed like the quickest and easiest upgrades could be had on the trade market.