Brewers: Which players are out of minor league options in 2022?

For young players still trying to establish themselves in the big leagues, minor league options are a very important thing. Options allow the major league team to send a player down to the minors while remaining on the 40 man roster. The Brewers have placed an emphasis on having players with that kind of flexibility.

There are new rules in place on minor league options this year. Starting in 2022, teams can only option a player a maximum of five times during one season. If they want to option him a sixth time, the player has to go on waivers to either be claimed or if he’s passed up, could be outrighted off the 40 man.

Players also have three option years that can be used. Once a player is out of options, they have to be put on waivers and clear that before they can be sent to the minor leagues and are then outrighted off the 40 man roster.

Which Brewers players are out of minor league options and which players still have options remaining?

Brewers players that are out of minor league options (5)

Rowdy Tellez, Pedro Severino, Tyrone Taylor, Adrian Houser, Trevor Gott

There are several more Brewers players that cannot be optioned to the minor leagues, all of whom have more than five years of MLB service, which automatically eliminates any remaining minor league options.

Rowdy Tellez is slated to be the starting first baseman for the Brewers this season and will share time there with Keston Hiura as well. Even if the Brewers did have an option available for Tellez, it’s unlikely they would use it given their current 1B situation.

Pedro Severino is slated to be the backup to Omar Narvaez and he should see a decent amount of playing time.

Tyrone Taylor‘s minor league options have been used and abused over the past few years but Taylor has finally proven he’s worthy of sticking in the big leagues and even with a crowded picture, he’s going to get some playing time. Now that he’s officially out of options, the Brewers will have to keep him on the roster and find spots for him.

Adrian Houser is out of options and that has almost no impact on the Brewers plans whatsoever. He’s an established member of the starting rotation and was in no risk of being sent down anyway.

Trevor Gott was signed as a free agent this offseason, the very first free agent to sign an MLB deal this winter. He’s going to be a member of the Brewers bullpen and he’ll avoid the Nashville shuttle on account of his lack of options.

Brewers Players with one minor league option remaining (10)

Willy Adames, Keston Hiura, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, Hoby Milner, Jandel Gustave, Pablo Reyes, Corey Ray, J.C. Mejia, Angel Perdomo

Let’s start off with Willy Adames and Brandon Woodruff and make it clear they have nothing to worry about. Eric Lauer doesn’t have much to worry about either.

Keston Hiura could go up and down again this year, depending on how he hits. If he gets back to producing offensively, then the Brewers are going to be inclined to keep him on the roster. If he doesn’t, they can still send him down to work on things.

Pablo Reyes and Corey Ray make up some of the primary position player depth in Triple-A. If an infield opening pops up, Reyes can fill in and then be optioned down after and if an outfield spot opens up, Ray can do the same. Ray has yet to get more than a cup of coffee in the big leagues and he’s on his final option year.

The rest of these players are a part of the bullpen shuttle. It’s looking like Hoby Milner and Jandel Gustave will get the initial Opening Day roster spots while J.C. Mejia and Angel Perdomo have already been optioned to the minors. This will be their final seasons with option eligibility.

The Brewers have several more players with two or more options remaining, including star players like Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader as well as prospects like Mario Feliciano, Aaron Ashby, Alec Bettinger, and Dylan File. But the primary focus is on players that are out of options and players that have one option year left.