4 Brewers players at highest risk of losing their roster spot before spring training

There's still a lot of offseason left to go for the Milwaukee Brewers. Following the additions they've made thus far, the 40 man roster is currently at capacity. That means any further additions would require subtractions.

Typically around this time in the offseason, teams have to start trimming the edges of their 40 man roster in order to bring in the free agent additions they want, which starts a chain of waiver wire placements and claims as players are designated for assignment.

The Brewers took advantage of such roster crunches last offseason. Picking up Bryan Hudson in a trade with the Dodgers was made possible after he was designated for assignment when Los Angeles needed a roster spot to sign $325 million dollar man Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

While the Brewers may not be spending anywhere near that much for any free agents this offseason, they'll still end up having to clear a 40 man spot the next time they sign someone to a major league contract. Here are the top candidates to lose their roster spot as the offseason continues to unfold.

OF Brewer Hicklen

Brewer Hicklen was impressive in Triple-A Nashville in 2024, earning himself one of the coveted two extra roster spots when the calendar flipped to September. However, Hicklen didn't last long as the extra position player.

Hicklen had five at-bats and struck out in four of them. Then he was a pinch runner in a game against the Rockies, stole a base, and then made a terrible blunder on the bases attempting to run on Rockies Gold Glove outfielder Brenton Doyle with two outs in the 9th in a one run game. He was thrown out at 3rd to end the game. Hicklen was swiftly demoted back to Triple-A and Isaac Collins was called up in his place.

With an already deep outfield crop, it's a tough path to playing time for Hicklen in Milwaukee to begin with. After a mistake like that, it's going to be even tougher for Hicklen to find playing time and justify holding on to a roster spot when they're at a premium.

SS Vinny Capra

Vinny Capra was a waiver claim last offseason and was able to make it through the entire season in the 40 man roster. He was promoted to the major leagues for a very brief period of time in 2024 before being sent back down to Triple-A. Capra's numbers at Triple-A were okay, hitting .261 with eight homers, 10 stolen bases, and a .730 OPS.

The primary reason Capra has stuck on the 40 man roster is his ability to play shortstop. Since Willy Adames is now in San Francisco, that could open the door a bit for Capra, but at the same time Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang would clearly get those opportunities well before Capra. Andruw Monasterio also has the ability to play there, which again hinders Capra's path to playing time.

Another factor working against Capra now is that he will be out of minor league options in 2025. That means the Brewers need to either carry him on the big league roster or designate him for assignment. It's just too hard to see Capra earning a 26 man roster spot, which means we could very well see that DFA before spring even begins to give him a better chance to find an opportunity elsewhere.

IF/OF Isaac Collins

Isaac Collins came up to take Brewer Hicklen's spot as the 28th man on the roster in September, making his Major League debut and tallying his first career hit. He stuck around the rest of the season. Although he was rarely used in games, Collins didn't make any major mistakes in his opportunities.

However, that still doesn't mean he's not on the outer fringe of the Brewers 40 man roster with the possibility he could be DFAed to make room for further additions. Working in Collins' favor though is that he has a full slate of minor league options available to him. So the Brewers can simply keep Collins in Triple-A for a while, calling upon him if needed.

Because the track record is also so limited, there's a strong chance that Collins would clear waivers if he was DFAed. He could simply get outrighted to Triple-A and remain in the organization but off the 40 man roster.

LHP Tyler Jay

The Brewers picked up Tyler Jay in a trade with the Mets over the summer in exchange for minor league righty TJ Shook. Jay, a former first round pick, does have minor league options remaining, but is a late bloomer as a 30 year old that just made his MLB debut in 2024.

Jay pitched just 4.2 IP in the majors for the Mets prior to the trade. Then he completed just three innings for Milwaukee in two mop-up duty appearances in late July. Jay then spent the rest of the season down in Triple-A with some mediocre numbers, including a 5.87 ERA.

Being a lefty does help Jay's case for a roster spot generally speaking, but the Brewers aren't hurting for lefties like they usually do. They have Bryan Hudson, Jared Koenig, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas, and free agent signing Grant Wolfram as southpaws in that bullpen mix. Hall and Ashby are also rotation candidates but odds are at least one of them will end up in the bullpen at some point. That's quite the depth of lefties without Jay, which makes him more expendable.

Jay didn't show much last year to prove he deserved to keep a roster spot heading into 2025, and when that roster crunch gets tight, Jay may be the one getting squeezed out, but all four of these players have a high likelihood of facing a DFA.