3 non-roster invitees with best chance of cracking Brewers’ 2026 Opening Day roster

Just a few short weeks remain before the Milwaukee Brewers will head down to Arizona to begin their gradual ramp-up to the 2026 season. The team's pitchers and catchers report to American Family Fields of Phoenix on February 12, the first official full-squad workout is scheduled for February 17, and on February 21, the Brewers will play their first game of the spring exhibition season against the Cleveland Guardians.

However, before any of that happens, Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office still likely have a couple of minor moves up their sleeves. With Milwaukee's 40-man roster currently sitting at just 38, there's room to make a few improvements to the margins of the Brewers' roster in the coming weeks. Those improvements could shake up the Brewers' projected Opening Day roster, which, as it currently stands, should look very similar to last season's roster without, of course, Freddy Peralta at the top of the rotation.

Not to be counted out, when it comes to the Brewers' Opening Day roster, is the group of non-roster invitees that Milwaukee has asked to join big-league spring training this year. While the Brewers did invite a batch of exciting young prospects to major league camp last week, Jesús Made and Cooper Pratt aren't the non-roster invitees that have a chance of cracking the Opening Day roster. Rather, those with at least somewhat of a chance are the players that Milwaukee signed to minor league contracts this offseason, who will be given a chance to prove themselves alongside the Brewers' stars with the hopes of earning a spot on the big-league roster. The Brewers have been known to give opportunities to players like this in the past; players like Jared Koenig and Jake Bauers, who figure to have prominent roles on the 2026 roster, were once non-roster invitees.

Let's take a look at which three non-roster invitees have the best chance of cracking the Brewers' Opening Day roster in 2026.

3 Brewers non-roster invitees with the best chance of making the 2026 Opening Day roster

1. C Reese McGuire

One position that Brewers fans should keep a close eye on this spring is the team's back-up catcher. It's essentially a two-man race between top prospect Jeferson Quero, who has yet to make his MLB debut, and veteran back-up Reese McGuire, who the team signed to a minor league deal last week. While Quero holds the upper hand of already being a member of the Brewers' 40-man roster, McGuire is probably the favorite to land the Opening Day job at this point in time.

First off, questions remain about Quero's readiness for the big leagues. He's still working his way back from a major shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the 2024 season (aside from one plate appearance) and the beginning of the 2025 campaign. The injury has caused Quero's arm strength, previously his best attribute, to become more of a league-average tool, while also leading to concerns about his exit velocities at the plate. The Brewers might be more comfortable starting him at Triple-A, where he will see consistent at-bats and continue to get stronger before making his MLB debut at some point during the 2026 season.

Additionally, delaying Quero's debut until the second month of the season would push his service time clock back one year, giving the Brewers an extra year of control, which could be very valuable seeing as Quero appears to be the organization's catcher of the future. Add to that the fact that McGuire has been a serviceable MLB back-up for eight years now, and it starts to look more likely that the veteran will be backing up William Contreras on Opening Day rather than Quero.

2. INF Eddys Leonard

After McGuire, the chances of a non-roster invitee making the Brewers' Opening Day roster start to look rather slim -- to the point where an injury or two will need to occur for one of the other names to break camp with the big-league team. That said, infielder Eddys Leonard, who the Brewers signed to a minor league deal all the way back on November 11, has a fair shot of cracking the Opening Day roster without any injuries to his competition, assuming the front office doesn't make any notable additions to the infield group in the coming days.

Leonard, who slugged 20 homers for the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A squad last year, will be competing with the likes of Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler for the utility infielder role on the Brewers' big-league roster. The 25-year-old Leonard can play all over the infield dirt with most of his 2025 starts coming at shortstop. The fact that the Brewers acted quickly, signing him to a contract shortly after the 2025 season concluded, likely means that the organization thinks highly of his profile and believes he could have a significant impact on the big-league roster.

An interesting thing to note is that despite not yet making his MLB debut, Leonard is out of minor league option years because he has spent three years on a 40-man roster and spent 20 or more days on a minor league roster during those years. Meanwhile, Monasterio and Seigler both have minor league options remaining, meaning they could shuttle back-and-forth between Triple-A and MLB without having to clear waivers, unlike Leonard. The lack of roster flexibility likely means that the Brewers won't call upon Leonard until they need him, either due to injuries or underperformance from Monasterio or Seigler. However, if Leonard has a very impressive showing this spring, it's not entirely out of the question that he could beat out Monasterio and Seigler, two players who have far less power than Leonard, for the utility infielder position on the Opening Day roster.

3. RHP Gerson Garabito

For right-hander Gerson Garabito to make the Brewers' 2026 Opening Day roster, it's likely an injury or two to Milwaukee's pitching staff would need to occur. However, pitcher injuries are the most common in spring training, and there were several names who made the Brewers' 2025 Opening Day roster who were considered long shots prior to spring training, simply due to the numerous injuries to Milwaukee's pitching group.

Of the pitchers included in the Brewers' group of non-roster invitees, Garabito possesses the most intriguing arsenal. The 30-year-old Garabito struggled in affiliated ball last year, but he finished the season by finding some success in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), posting a 2.64 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched. He has a five-pitch repertoire, including two fastball shapes, and three secondaries -- curveball, slider, and changeup -- which leads to soft contact thanks to his ability to effectively locate each of his offerings.

Though Garabito was a starter in the KBO, he has mostly pitched out of the bullpen during his brief stints in MLB, and that's almost certainly where he would be if the Brewers are forced to include him on their Opening Day roster because of injuries to their pitching staff. That said, with a lack of right-handed options currently in their projected Opening Day roster, the Brewers will need to find a few right-handed options somewhere, and it's possible that Garabito, who has one minor league option remaining, enters their radar with a very strong spring training. More likely, he will start the year with the Nashville Sounds and be called upon at some point during the 2026 campaign should the Brewers need another arm.