2 Brewers at risk of losing their 40-man roster spot before 2026 arrives

As 2026 draws nearer, the Milwaukee Brewers find themselves in an excellent spot in regard to the players on their 40-man roster. A majority of the players who were responsible for Milwaukee's record-breaking 2025 season will be back for the 2026 campaign, including fan favorite Brandon Woodruff, who was no certainty to return at the onset of the offseason. Other smaller additions, including the addition of pitching prospect Coleman Crow, who was protected from the Rule 5 Draft after being awarded a spot on the 40-man roster, and outfielder Akil Baddoo, who joined Milwaukee on a split contract earlier this month, have supplemented an already strong roster, giving Brewers fans plenty to be encouraged about for the season ahead.

With winter officially upon us, Milwaukee currently has 39 players on their 40-man roster -- a result of their 2-for-1 swap with the Kansas City Royals in which they exchanged Isaac Collins and Nick Mears for Ángel Zerpa. The open roster spot means that everyone on Milwaukee's roster will theoretically survive the teams' next move, so long as it doesn't involve the Brewers netting a surplus of two 40-man roster-worthy players in a hypothetical trade, which is by no means out of the question.

More than likely, the Brewers will add a third catcher to their 40-man roster sometime in the near future. Such a move would fill their 40-man roster, meaning, if Matt Arnold and the front office want to make another external addition beyond adding a third catcher to the mix, they will have to either designate one of their current players for assignment or trade them away for cash considerations or a player who doesn't need a spot on the 40-man, such as a prospect who has yet to make his debut.

Milwaukee will likely add at least two more MLB-ready players to their roster before the 2026 season arrives, but the issue is that Arnold and company have assembled such impressive big-league depth that making a decision of who has to be removed from the 40-man in such a reality is no easy task. The Brewers, weary of how much depth is needed to get through a 162-game season with a record good enough to win their division, take no 40-man roster spot for granted. Therefore, while the following two players are the most likely to be removed if the front office needs to open up a roster spot, each possess a strong argument as to why they should remain on Milwaukee's 40-man heading into next year.

2 Brewers at risk of losing their 40-man roster spot before 2026 arrives

1. OF Steward Berroa

Switch-hitting outfielder Steward Berroa joined the Brewers' organization on July 9, 2025. Ironically, Milwaukee acquired Berroa in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers while the two teams were facing off in a three-game set at American Family Field. At the time, the Brewers needed more upper-level minor league outfield depth, as both Blake Perkins and Garrett Mitchell were on the injured list, and Daz Cameron had just been designated for assignment.

Berroa joined the Nashville Sounds, but not until early August as he was battling an injury at the time of the trade. Despite struggling at the plate with the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, with a batting average below the Mendoza Line to prove it, Berroa was recalled to the major leagues in mid-August, during a time when both Perkins and Collins were briefly unavailable due to personal matters. Though he didn't offer much impact with his bat -- Berroa went 0-for-5 with a walk in his limited opportunities with the big-league club -- he did throw a runner out at the plate from center field in his first inning with the Brewers.

Even still, despite being a very strong defender and one of the fastest players in the sport, Berroa's offensive track record in the minor leagues is one of inconsistency and low upside. With plenty of speedy, strong defenders on the Brewers' 40-man roster already, Berroa's profile looks like a redundant one, which could lead to Milwaukee cutting ties with him if they need to free up a roster spot.

Here, however, is the argument against such a move: Berroa is absolutely crushing the ball in the Dominican Winter League this offseason. Playing for the Aguilas Cibaenas, Berroa is slashing .279/.398/.433 with three homers and 17 stolen bases in 40 games. Now, players don't necessarily keep roster spots simply due to their performances in offseason leagues, but the Brewers clearly see something in Berroa that other clubs don't, and it's possible it's coming to fruition down in the Dominican Republic this winter. That said, when looking at the position players on the Brewers' 40-man roster, Berroa's name is likely still atop the list of likely DFA candidates should Milwaukee need to make room for an external addition.

2. RHP Easton McGee

If Berroa is the position player most likely to lose his 40-man roster spot in the coming weeks as the result of the Brewers making multiple external additions, his counterpart on the pitching staff is right-hander Easton McGee. Looking through the pitchers currently on the 40-man roster, the Brewers are stacked, so McGee's designation as the most likely to be DFAd in the coming days is less an indictment of his abilities as a pitcher and more a testament to the incredible pitching depth that Milwaukee's front office has assembled in recent years.

That reality is reinforced by the fact that when McGee was given an opportunity to prove himself with the big league club in 2025, he showed flashes of a pitcher who could be a very successful reliever at the MLB level. Possessing the ability to throw six different pitches, half of which are above league-average when it comes to Stuff+, McGee certainly has the potential to be an important piece of the Brewers' puzzle in 2026, but it's difficult to see where the opportunities will come.

The 6'7" right-hander who presumably could add a few ticks to his low-90s four-seam fastball, did post an encouraging 3.59 ERA in with 53 strikeouts in 47.2 innings for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in 2026, but that success didn't translate to the big leagues where his 5.52 ERA and his 4.28 expected ERA, which, to be fair, were both heavily influenced by one poor outing, didn't turn heads the way the Brewers were hoping McGee would in his limited appearances.

There's absolutely a lot to like about McGee's profile, and it's likely Berroa would be replaced on the roster before the intriguing reliever is, but if Arnold has several more moves in store this winter, it's certainly possible McGee is no longer on the Brewers' 40-man when Opening Day 2026 rolls around. Hopefully, that doesn't mean he leaves the organization, but he and his promising repertoire are likely to get snatched up by another team via the waiver process.