Milwaukee Brewers: Who earned the final spot in the bullpen?

The Milwaukee Brewers announced their 25-man roster two days before Opening Day. Were there any surprises?

Final cuts were made to get the Milwaukee Brewers down to the 25-man limit, and there was at least one surprise when the final roster was announced. Tyler Saladino and Cory Spangenberg were optioned to Triple-A last week, and Erik Kratz was traded a few days ago, so the bench has been set for days.

We knew that Jhoulys Chacin and Corbin Burnes were in the starting rotation. Brandon Woodruff and Zach Davies were both expected to make the starting five, and they did. Freddy Peralta was announced as the starter for the second game of the season, and that makes five.

Chase Anderson will start the year in the bullpen. Jimmy Nelson will likely start the season in extended Spring Training before getting a few tuneup starts in Triple-A.

The only remaining part that needed to be announced was the bullpen.

Who made the Brewers bullpen?

Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress will start the year on the Injured List. Josh Hader will likely close, while Matt Albers, Alex Claudio, Jacob Barnes, and Junior Guerra were essentially locks for the bullpen with all the injuries that occurred.

The final two spots came down to Jake Petricka, Taylor Williams, and the newly signed Alex Wilson.

Williams and Wilson earned the final two spots, while Petricka was optioned to the Minors.

Didn’t Petricka look like he won a spot?

He did.

Petricka appeared in ten games this Spring, and logged 11 innings. He posted a 3.27 ERA with 13 strikeouts, and six walks. He also earned a 1-0 record, and logged a save. He did give up four runs, but didn’t allow any homers.

The Milwaukee Brewers are concerned by walks from their relievers, and Petricka had a few rough outings down the stretch. The team also clearly likes Williams and Wilson, so Petricka ended up as the odd man out this time.

Petricka was close to a job, and he’s likely the first call up when the Milwaukee Brewers need to play ‘reliever roulette’ if their bullpen arms are taxed. He may have missed the Opening Day roster, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to spend all year in Triple-A. He will return to the Milwaukee Brewers this year, and he will likely pitch often.