3 Brewers who should not make the 2025 NLDS roster

Just two days remain before the Milwaukee Brewers embark on what is hopefully a long postseason run. Said run will begin in the NLDS, with the Brewers awaiting the winner of the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs' Wild Card Series matchup. While the start of the NLDS is set to take place at either 1:08 p.m. CT or 8:08 p.m. CT on Saturday, the Brewers still have plenty of roster decisions to make before they open postseason play.

On the pitching side of things, several decisions will be heavily impacted by the health of José Quintana and Brandon Woodruff. As things currently stand, the most likely outcome is that Quintana will be ready for the NLDS and Woody will not be, but even that could change in the next 48 hours. Whether or not the Brewers will need more bulk options in the bullpen will be determined as a result.

The team also has some difficult decisions when it comes to their position player group. While there aren't any injury concerns — William Contreras is expected to play through a left-hand contusion — there are decisions to be made about which players give the Brewers the best chance to succeed in the postseason.

The entire 40-man roster is available, but only about 30 players will really be considered for the postseason 26-man roster. Players like Jeferson Quero, Tyler Black, and Craig Yoho, while they will earn valuable experience serving on the team's taxi squad and be in the dugout for the postseason, likely won't see the official playoff roster. As such, here are three notable names who will certainly be considered for the NLDS roster, but will ultimately be left off.

1. 1B/DH Rhys Hoskins

This is probably the most difficult decision that the Brewers will face over the next two days, but ultimately the team must consider leaving Rhys Hoskins off the NLDS roster.

2025 was a rollercoaster of a season for the 32-year-old veteran. Through the first two months of the season, Hoskins was easily the Brewers' best hitter, willing the team through a difficult stretch and showcasing the power that Milwaukee was expecting when they signed the long-time Philadelphia Phillie during the 2023-24 offseason.

An unfortunate thumb injury in early July derailed Hoskins' 2025 campaign, landing him on the IL for nearly two months. During his absence, change-of-scenery star Andrew Vaughn went on an absolute tear. Though he continued to hit at an above-league-average clip, Vaughn began to cool off slightly during the month of August, when Hoskins' return was nearing, but then Jake Bauers, the team's other first baseman, started swinging a hot bat. As a result, when Hoskins returned, there wasn't a clear role for him in the starting lineup. Though there is an unwritten rule in baseball that players aren't supposed to lose their spot in the lineup due to an injury, the Brewers were in the midst of a playoff push and couldn't afford to take either Vaughn or Bauers, depending on the handedness of the opposing pitcher, out of the lineup.

Consequently, Hoskins was relegated to a pinch-hitter role. He collected just 10 total at-bats in the month of September and found himself in the starting lineup just once. During that span, Hoskins connected for just one hit, while striking out six times. Pat Murphy and his staff made it clear that they didn't view Hoskins as a major piece down the stretch.

Therefore, it's not far-fetched to believe that Hoskins will be left off the NLDS roster, despite the playoff experience that he acquired in Philadelphia. With Vaughn and Bauers likely on the initial  postseason roster, the Brewers would be wiser to include someone like Brandon Lockridge or even Anthony Seigler on the NLDS roster. The former could pinch run in important situations late in games and then serve as an excellent defensive replacement in the outfield, while the latter would offer more infield depth for a team that would otherwise have to rely on only Andruw Monasterio to back up all three infield positions other than first base.

2. LHP DL Hall

DL Hall similarly had an up-and-down 2025 season. When he was on the mound, he was excellent, but Hall missed more than half of the year with two separate injuries.

His addition to the Brewers' bullpen at the end of May, which coincided with Aaron Ashby's addition to the 'pen, saved an overworked group of relievers who were desperately in need of the multi-inning stints that Hall regularly provided. But Hall wasn't just covering innings; he was doing so while seldom allowing an earned run. On July 28, roughly two months after Hall made his 2025 debut, he was sporting a 1.93 ERA with a dazzling 0.89 WHIP.

However, in mid-August, Hall went down with an oblique strain, which kept him off the roster until the final game of the regular season. A very unfortunately timed injury, Hall was lucky to return to game action before the end of the season, but his audition for the postseason roster didn't go according to plan. In one inning of work, Hall surrendered a home run to Cincinnati Reds' left-handed outfielder TJ Friedl.

The question is not whether Hall would be a valuable addition to the Brewers bullpen; any contender would take a multi-inning, left-handed reliever who can cover high-leverage situations. Rather, the question is whether Hall is ready to pitch and healthy enough to make multiple appearances throughout a five-game series. If there are lingering effects from his late-season injury, the Brewers would be better off going with the trio of Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, and Rob Zastryzny as the lefties in their NLDS bullpen.

3. LHP Robert Gasser

The fact that Robert Gasser came over to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader trade back at the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline immediately made him a focal point for Brewers fans who were adamant that the front office made a major mistake trading away their All-Star closer halfway through the season. Other than Matt Arnold, who took over as the head of the front office after the 2022 season, flipping Esteury Ruiz for William Contreras, the Brewers' only hope of salvaging a win from the infamous Hader trade was banking on Gasser becoming an effective big-league starter.

Gasser looked like just that when he debuted for the Brew Crew in May of 2024. His 2.57 ERA through his first five MLB starts had Brewers fans dreaming of the value that he could add to the starting rotation for years to come. However, Gasser went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery before he could make his sixth major league appearance.

After more than a year away from a big-league mound, Gasser returned to the Brewers' roster on September 21 and made two solid appearances for the Crew down the stretch, filling in for the injured Woodruff and Quintana. He covered 5.2 innings in those two outings and surrendered just two earned runs while striking out five opposing hitters.

However, with less than six big-league innings under his belt this season, the Brewers would be wiser to opt for a length option like Chad Patrick or Tobias Myers, who both hit their stride down the stretch and are playing some of their best baseball heading into the postseason. Therefore, while the Brewers may need someone to fill in for Woodruff or Quintana in the playoffs, Gasser likely isn't ready to fill that role.