SPORTS LINE
The Brewers. After an offseason of turmoil, the Brewers are surprisingly in first place in the National League Central thanks to their young key players for helping the team exceed expectations in 2024 defying offseason predictions. The Brewers’ unexpected success in 2024 is largely attributed to the exceptional performances of their young core consisting particularly of Turang and Ortiz, as they lead the NL Central and set their sights on a postseason campaign. Turang: Slashing .306/.369/.421 with 17 extra-base hits, 24 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. Ortiz: Batting .284/.379/.467 with 19 extra-base hits and 23 RBI. While the Brewers’ young core is performing exceptionally, their long-term sustainability and ability to maintain this level of play remain uncertain. While playing against the Detroit Tigers Tobias Myers dominated on the mound for Milwaukee, going 8.0 shutout innings with five strikeouts and Blake Perkins did something not seen for the last seven years of team history at the plate.
Perkins went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. He’s now hitting .260 with a .730 OPS for the year. The 27-year-old made his major league debut with the Brewers last year and has become an integral part of the roster. He’s a .241 hitter over his short career with nine home runs and 11 stolen bases. These were the first two triples of his career. The Brewers will aim to continue their success as they strive for a postseason run in 2024, relying on the contributions of their young infielders Turang and Ortiz. If they keep going strong as they are now, they could be a contender to win the championship.
The Packers. After years of playing a financial game of “kick the can” with the salary cap, all to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive with Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers are finally getting their cap back in shape. They still have the seventh-most dead cap space at a jaw-dropping $50.2 million for 2024, but most of that will vanish after this season when big contracts like David Bakhtiari’s $19 million and Aaron Jones’s $12.3 million come off the books. Here’s a look at the top five Packers entering a contract year in 2024. TJ Slaton, Defensive Tackle other Packer’s linemen react to playing in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Hafley is on the record saying he doesn’t just want his defensive tackles to eat up space; he wants them to attack with aggression. TJ Slaton is making a modest $3.2 million in 2024 and will look for a nice payday next offseason. Green Bay likely prepped for his departure with the selections of Wooden and Brooks last year, but they’ll need another big who can eat space and blockers like Slaton can. making a modest $3.2 million in 2024 and will look for a nice payday next offseason.
Green Bay likely prepped for his departure with the selections of Wooden and Brooks last year, but they’ll need another big who can eat space and blockers like Slaton can. Green Bay will look for creative ways to challenge Myers, including allowing Zach Tom, Sean Rhyan, and Jacob Monk to get some snaps at center. However, don’t be surprised to see Myers prevail once again. This is probably a position the Packers can address through the draft or a cheap free agent signing next offseason. The Packers willingly entered 2024 with Eric Stokes in a contract year after they declined his fifth-year option on his rookie contract. That move is the result of Stokes battling injuries over the last two years that limited him to a mere 12 games. That crossroads he faces in 2024 will not only dictate what the rest of his Packers’ career may or may not look like. It will also go a long way in determining his fate in the NFL. Kenny Clark is the longest-tenured Packers player on the roster. He spent his entire nine-year career in Green Bay after being selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Green Bay has restructured his contract a couple of times, meaning he will count $13.5 million against the Packers’ cap next year, $5.5 million in 2026, and $2.8 million in 2027 as void years.
It’s unclear if Green Bay can do anything to avoid those void years at this point, but they’ll still have to decide whether to re-sign him. It seems like a contract extension between Jordan Love and the Packers is imminent. However, until it’s signed and official, we’re counting him as an unrestricted free agent in 2025 (because he is). After an up-and-down start to his 2023 season, Love caught fire over the second half. He was arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL over that span. He not only led the Packers back to the playoffs quicker than anyone expected, but he also led them to a postseason victory. It will be interesting to see what happens with these contracts for the next season.
