With a younger, cheaper shortstop in Luis Urías, should the Brewers trade high on Orlando Arcia?
-- @JoeInStCloud

Sure, from a business point of view there is a case to sell high on Arcia if the Brewers can find a market for him this offseason. After woeful showings in the 2018 regular season (54 wRC+) and in ‘19 (61 wRC+), Arcia slashed .260/.317/.416 in the shortened ‘20 season. A competition between the two never materialized because of Urías’ offseason left hand surgery and summer bout with COVID-19, but presuming both are healthy going into ‘21, shortstop would be one of Milwaukee’s positions of depth. And while Urías remains a minimum-salary player, Arcia is entering his second year of arbitration after earning a prorated portion of $2.2 million last year.

However, there are a couple of impediments. One, is Arcia’s .317 OBP enough to entice teams during an era in which so many clubs value on-base skills? Two, do other teams like Arcia’s defense more than the metrics -- including a -5 DRS? And three, are the Brewers confident enough about filling the infield corner positions to trade from their middle infield depth?

“He’s a shortstop, and ultimately I think that’s where you’ll see him in the future, is shortstop,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Urías. “There’s never been an issue with arm strength.”

Was Corbin Burnes snubbed as a comeback player of the year?
-- @alyssa_brooks20

The MLB Players Association announced its Players Choice Awards finalists last week and Burnes was left out of a National League trio that included the Rockies’ Daniel Bard, the Braves’ Adam Duvall and the Padres’ Wil Myers. But note that they (and the Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year Awards, for that matter) are different than MLB’s “official” Comeback Player of the Year Awards, which go to one player in each league after a vote by MLB.com beat reporters. We have a nomination process in place that helps ensure worthy candidates are not left out. Typically, the result is announced in early December.

Am I wrong in saying there were a LOT of infield hits against the Brewers this past season? Is that the result of bad defense, opposing teams finding more ways to beat the shift, or just the 2020 bad luck we've come to know and loathe?
-- @WordOfThe_Weiss

The Brewers surrendered the third-most infield hits of any team in 2020. The Phillies surrendered the most at 56, followed by the Yankees (55), Crew (53), Blue Jays (51) and the Marlins and Mets (tied at 50). I remember very few instances of hitters bunting to beat the shift, so I would scratch that one off the list. That leaves bad defense or bad luck. Milwaukee was in the bottom third of MLB teams in defensive stats like DRS and UZR/150, so that probably did play some role. But as we started to notice throughout the summer, it seemed to me that most of them were just bad luck.

Are there any alternate site players that may be promising additions to Spring Training?
-- @melissa_at_home

If we’re talking about players who did not play for the big league club in 2020, I would zero in on a pair of pitchers entering big years: Zack Brown and Ethan Small. Brown had to be disappointed that he never got a shot this year. Small is in a different category, much earlier in his development. He got to attend big league camp as a first-round Draft pick, and when he returns in ’21, he’ll probably be aiming not only to observe, but to make the team. One other wild card that comes to mind is left-hander Antoine Kelly, who really impressed club officials over the summer. Is it too early in his career to give him a shot?

What is the plan for Freddy Peralta in 2021? I’d love to see him lock down a rotation spot.
-- @MrJdorshorst

I have a feeling that the Brewers will go into 2021 -- whatever it looks like -- with a similar approach to the one they carried into ’20: Collect lots of live arms and don’t categorize them as starters and relievers. Burnes, Peralta and Brent Suter all pitched in both roles as part of a big staff with pieces moving up and down between the Majors and “Minors.” There is no reason the team cannot do the same again. Peralta made only one start this season, yet was Milwaukee’s fourth-most valuable pitcher by WAR (per FanGraphs).

If you were a betting man, would you bet the Brewers’ 2020 payroll to be over or under $90 million?
-- @CLwuzhere

Under. Just a guess based on president of baseball operations David Stearns’ comments after the season.

Haven't heard much about Corey Ray this year, what's the situation on him? Will we see him with the big club next year?
-- @Gravityily

There’s no doubting the defense, but Ray’s pitch recognition is what’s holding him back at this point. And he knows it. He talked about it at length during Spring Training and identified it as his No. 1 goal for 2020 before the pandemic changed everything. The Brewers do have a decision to make on Ben Gamel’s club option, and that could impact Ray’s path to Milwaukee. Otherwise, he is behind at least Gamel and Tyrone Taylor in terms of extra outfielders.

What are the chances we get a real 3B and 1B next year? How long can we continue without a commitment to those positions?
-- @LarrySMith4

Objection. Leading question.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have only one candy not named Candy Raisins, what would it be?
-- @Todd_Rosiak

Swedish Fish. But the multicolored ones, not the trash all-red ones.

What's your top recommendation for a 2020 baseball-themed Halloween costume?
-- @hurrayforfacts

It’s got to be Big Daniel Vogelbach this year, right? I can’t even think of a runner-up.