The Brewers still have options after missing out on Yu Darvish

The Brewers might have made Yu Darvish the focus of their search for starting pitching of late, but that doesn’t mean the free agent was the only target Milwaukee had in mind. The Cubs ended up with Darvish, and now the Brewers have moved on to a number of other options.

Jon Heyman reported on Twitter that the Brewers are looking at essentially everyone available whose names you know. Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, and Lance Lynn can still be signed. Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer could be available in a trade, and given the Brewers are trying to shift young outfielders around now that Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich are on board, they have the pieces to start talking trades — maybe for the A’s Jharel Cotton, even.

The Brewers’ rotation already has some promise, but they could use more sure things given the pitchers involved in spring training battles for the four and five spots aren’t all that exciting or reliable. Even though spring training kicks off Tuesday and Wednesday, there are still plenty of arms who fit that description available, as you saw a paragraph ago.

With Darvish signed, the rest of the pitching market might be able to start moving. Of course, we’ve also wondered if that was the case with a number of other trades and signings in a winter that’s refused to thaw out.

• Sure, Darvish is off the board, but there are still possibilities for a team to just go and spend a ton of money on free agents now and change their 2018 for the better.
• The Brewers aren’t alone in their Archer interest, as the Twins — who also missed out on Darvish — have inquired on him in the last couple of weeks.
• The Yankees’ behavior has a real impact on the current labor tensions.
• The Astros are supposedly considering a trade for J.T. Realmuto, but Crawfish Boxes isn’t convinced this makes sense.

• Viva El Birdos points out that Darvish signing with the Cubs makes life harder for the rest of the NL Central’s competitors.
• If Carlos Beltran returns to the majors, it could be as a member of a front office.
• Remember the rumor of a spring training strike that the MLBPA shot down as being false? There’s a reason the players couldn’t do it even if they wanted to, and this labor lawyer explains just what that is.
• Cubs’ pitcher Mike Montgomery discussed (prior to the Darvish signing) that ownership around the game was failing fans by not pushing to get the best team possible on the field.