Brewers: 5 Players Who Will Benefit From Expanded Rosters In 2020

With reports of expanded rosters for the 2020 season, there stands to be several Milwaukee Brewers players who benefit from this with roster spots of their own.

Going into 2020, we were already expanding from a 25 man active roster to a 26 man roster across the league. The Brewers handled this expansion by doubling down on their strategy of adding depth. With an abbreviated spring training and shortened season, MLB has discussed expanding active rosters to 30 players for this season.

With the depth the Brewers have assembled and Craig Counsell‘s ability to play matchups, this figures to be a positive boost for the Crew overall. But with potentially four more roster spots than they were expecting and five more spots than they had last year, which players will benefit the most from this change?

These five players should see a huge boost in their roster chances with expanded rosters.

1. Logan Morrison, 1B

In Spring Training 1.0, Logan Morrison was making a great case to earn a spot on the Brewers initial Opening Day roster. He would’ve served as a backup first baseman and power bat off the bench. It was going to be a tough spot to make with only 26 spots and the Justin Smoak/Ryan Braun platoon already at first base.

Morrison’s Opening Day spot was not close to guaranteed however, but with the added roster spots and the potential of a DH this season as well, that opens up more opportunities and more playing time for Morrison.

2. Angel Perdomo, LHP

Angel Perdomo was pitching well in spring training and had pushed himself into the mix for that bullpen, although he figured to be shuttled back and forth between Milwaukee and Triple-A throughout the season.

With four more roster spots, the Brewers are undoubtedly going to want to carry as many pitchers as possible. There haven’t been any reports on limiting the number of pitchers on the roster like there initially was going to be, but there will be extra arms for that bullpen.

3. Shelby Miller, RHP

The reclamation project of Shelby Miller goes into its second season now with Miller impressing the Brewers coaching staff in spring. He was further down on the depth chart among starting pitchers, with coaches even saying that he would’ve gone down to the minor leagues to continue to improve in regular competition before they felt he was ready to join the big league team.

However, with the minor league season in doubt and the extra roster spots along with a taxi squad, the Brewers are highly likely to put Miller in one of those places. While he likely won’t start the season in the big leagues, there’s a very good chance he’ll get there eventually in 2020 with the expanded rosters.

4. Drew Rasmussen, RHP

Brewers coaches raved about Drew Rasmussen in spring training, believing that he would quickly make himself an option for the Brewers bullpen this season. A quick riser through the minor league system, Rasmussen has a big fastball and a strong track record when healthy.

With the Brewers believing that he’s going to be a contributor in 2020, he’s likely to be on the taxi squad at the very least, pitching regularly with them and staying active until the Brewers feel he’s ready for the big leagues. With an expanded bullpen, Rasmussen is even more likely to get one of those spots at some point this season.

5. David Freitas, C

Rosters expanding to 26 rosters made it a little easier to envision teams carrying three catchers during the regular season. While the odds for David Freitas and/or Jacob Nottingham earning that coveted spot were still long, the addition of a few more roster spots still helps them out.

At the very least, Freitas and Nottingham are strong candidates for the taxi squad. The Brewers had almost every single position covered with plenty of depth at the big league level coming into the season. The only position where they didn’t have more than enough depth at the big league level was catcher. You can more easily carry three guys that can play shortstop than you can carry three catchers.

By carrying a third catcher, the Brewers will have every position covered with more than enough depth readily available in every game.