Brewers: Final Opening Day 26 Man Roster Prediction 3.0

Brewers Projected Opening Day Outfielders (4)

Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Jackie Bradley Jr.

Other Candidates: Tyrone Taylor, Billy McKinney

Provided all are healthy, these four players are locks for the roster. With their contract situations, and the stated plans, those four will get the bulk of the playing time in the outfield.

The question comes on the final spot. The biggest question is if there even is a fifth spot for someone to claim. Billy McKinney has had a strong second half of spring training, and in a normal situation he would claim a roster spot. However with the addition of Bradley, it’s still unclear if the Brewers will carry five outfielders to start the year, especially if they keep Robertson, who can also backup in the outfield.

McKinney is out of minor league options, which helps his case to make the roster. The Brewers like that he also can play some first base. However, since Cain and Bradley are going to be healthy enough to avoid an IL stint to start the year, we’ll have McKinney not making it.

There’s also a chance McKinney could get traded to a team that needs a backup outfielder with the potential to be a starter more than the Brewers. A team like the White Sox would make a lot of sense.

Tyrone Taylor has also played well and the argument could be made that he’s deserving of a big league roster spot, but he does have a minor league option remaining, which means he’s not as likely to make the roster. Taylor could easily come up at different points throughout the season as needed, however.

The guess here is that McKinney will end up elsewhere. There’s no guarantee that the Brewers will go with five outfielders and put Taylor on the roster instead if McKinney gets moved.