Milwaukee Brewers: Spring Training Position Battles

What about the bullpen?

Well, Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress, and Alex Claudio are locks for the 2019 25-man roster.

After that? The situation gets murky. The Milwaukee Brewers will probably start the season with at least 12 pitchers on the 25-man roster. Five are expected to be starters, and four were just named. That leaves three additional spots for relievers or starters who don’t make the rotation.

Depending on how the Brewers construct their Opening Day roster, there might only be one or two spots left for the rest of their pitchers. Jacob Barnes will likely claim one spot, and Matt Albers is under contract for 2019, and should stake a claim to the other. It would take an absolute disaster of a Spring or an injury to push Albers off the roster.

Junior Guerra is also expected to contend for a bullpen spot. If the Brewers have 13 pitchers on the Opening Day roster, Guerra is completely safe. If it’s only 12, he could end up back in Triple-A to start the season.

Names like Taylor Williams, Aaron Wilkerson, Bobby Wahl, and Jake Petricka are also on the 40-man roster, but need an impressive Spring and an injury or two to work their way onto the 25-man roster.

The fact that the Milwaukee Brewers have so few positions up for grabs is a sign that they’re in contention. The roster could still use a few upgrades, but the major construction is done. The Spring is the time for GM David Stearns to figure out what he has on the Major League roster, and there aren’t a ton of decisions that need to be made. The Brewers could use a better option at second base, and they could always add an elite arm, but those additions are more likely to occur near the trade deadline than they are right now.