Brewers announce 2026 NLDS roster complete with stacked pitching staff

In general, when faced with a best-of-five postseason series, MLB teams elect to carry 12 pitchers and 14 position players on their roster. The only restriction on the 26-man postseason rosters is that teams can't carry more than 13 pitchers, but teams often elect to carry 12, expecting not to need the extra arm over the course of a five-game series.

The Milwaukee Brewers typically follow that league-wide trend. When faced with a best-of-three or best-of-five game series, the Brewers have always carried just 12 pitchers. As a result, many of this year's roster predictions for Milwaukee's best-of-five NLDS matchup against the San Diego Padres included 12 pitchers and 14 position players. That breakdown led many to wonder whether arms like Kyle Harrison and Dustin May, each of whom has the arsenal to be effective postseason pitchers, would be included on the NLDS roster, with there seemingly being 11 other "locks" for the Brewers' postseason pitching staff.

However, as just revealed when the Brewers officially announced their NLDS roster, Milwaukee is avoiding that decision altogether by breaking from the mold and carrying 13 pitchers on their initial postseason roster. Harrison is in, May is in, and the Brewers will have just 13 position players on their NLDS roster.

Brewers include Kyle Harrison, Dustin May on NLDS roster after electing to carry 13 arms on initial postseason pitching staff

The Brewers' decision came down to whether it was more beneficial for them to carry a third catcher, Bo Naylor, or a 13th pitcher. Including Naylor would have allowed them to be aggressive with their use of backup catcher Gary Sánchez as a pinch hitter, but it's also likely Naylor wouldn't have seen much, if any, playing time throughout the best-of-five series. As a result, the Brewers elected to stack their pitching staff, which could certainly come in handy given the uncertainty surrounding their Game 3 starter situation.

Beyond Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, who are scheduled to start Games 1 and 2 for the Brewers this weekend, Milwaukee's starting pitching situation is still up in the air. The Brewers have plenty of options, including Robert Gasser and May, but it's likely whoever they turn to will only be asked to deliver a short start. Therefore, having the extra arm for Game 3, and Game 4 should it occur, certainly makes some sense.

The restored fastball shape and velocity that Harrison displayed during his final three outings of the regular season were apparently enough for the Brewers to look past his second-half inconsistency and trust him with the ball in October. What Harrison's role will be on the postseason roster remains to be seen, but the Brewers wouldn't have included the extra arm on the NLDS roster if they didn't plan on using him at some point.

May, meanwhile, makes the NLDS roster despite his lackluster results with the Brewers since being acquired by Milwaukee at the trade deadline. His "stuff" has looked sharp in his time with the Brewers, but at times his location and sequencing have been subpar. The Brewers are trusting his potential and his playoff-caliber arsenal by including him on the NLDS roster.

Finally, though it looked all but certain following yesterday's report from Pat Murphy, Joey Ortiz's official inclusion on the NLDS roster is a big sigh of relief for the Brewers fanbase. Ortiz was battling knee and abdomen injuries as the regular season came to a close, but the week off allowed him to heal up for the postseason run, in which he will be a key contributor for the Brewers.

13 pitchers and 13 position players -- that's the final breakdown for the Brewers. Milwaukee is trusting the potential of Harrison and May just as they did with Misiorowski a season ago. Fans can only hope this year's roster decision works out as well as including Miz on last year's NLDS roster. The Brewers have raised their ceiling by including Harrison and May on their initial postseason roster; the next step is reaching that ceiling.

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