A solution to last night's inexcusable loss is waiting in Nashville

The Milwaukee Brewers entered the bottom of the ninth inning in Saturday's contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a four-run lead. Without a save on the line, manager Pat Murphy turned to struggling reliever Joel Payamps to close out the game. Payamps, who now sports a 19.06 ERA in 2025, proceeded to allow a walk and an RBI-triple by Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas, before turning the ball over to the Brewers' closer, Trevor Megill.

Megill struggled as well, giving up three earned runs without recording a hit, ultimately handing the win to Arizona, who had trailed the entire game. However, it was Payamps who set the stage for Megill's blown save as he failed to fulfill his reputation as a high-leverage out-getter once again. Payamps' struggles can be traced back to last year, when his disappointing postseason performance cost the Brewers the first game of the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets.

If the Brewers had no better options and didn't have playoff aspirations, it would be worth the wait to see if Payamps can return to his previous form. But with a prospect phenom waiting for his promotion to the big leagues, it might be time for the Brewers to cut ties with Payamps.

Craig Yoho is the perfect replacement for Joel Payamps

After a stellar showing in spring training, Craig Yoho is once again gaining Brewers fans' attention. The 25-year-old right-hander, who sports a career minor-league ERA of 1.22, has yet to give up a run this season, while striking out seven batters across five appearances.

Yoho's arsenal features a sinker that sits in the low nineties, a high-spin curveball that neutralizes right-handed hitters, and quite possibly the best changeup that has ever been thrown. The changeup, unofficially coined "The Yo-Yo" by Brewers fans and writers, generated a ridiculous 51% whiff rate last season while serving as the main contributor to Yoho's otherworldly 42.4% strikeout rate. In summary, he misses bats.

The main concern for Yoho is his control, which spiked to 14.5% in the 14.1 innings that he threw in Triple-A last season, according to FanGraphs. Yoho has issued five "free-passes" so far in 2025, coming in the form of two hit-by-pitches and three walks. However, his keen ability to earn strikeouts lessens the importance of him allowing one or even two base runners in an inning via the walk.

Something to consider with a Yoho promotion is the opportunity for service time manipulation. In brief, keeping a player off of the major-league roster for 16 days prior to their MLB debut earns them an extra year of team control, because a full year of service is not accrued if the player spends less than 172 of the 187 days in an MLB season on the major-league roster. So when is that 16 days up? As luck would have it, it's today.

The Brewers could avoid designating Payamps for assignment by optioning another reliever with minor-league options down to Triple-A, but because Yoho isn't currently on the team's 40-man roster, someone will need to be cut to make room for him. It's looking increasingly likely that Payamps may be that person.

It should not be discredited how important Payamps has been to this team over the last two seasons, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in 129.2 innings, most of which were high-leverage. However, his effectiveness has wavered significantly, and it’s time to make the necessary switch to Yoho, who could very well be the team's long-term closer.