Brewers DFA recent trade acquisition to open roster spot for former top prospect

The Milwaukee Brewers are shaking things up ahead of their much-anticipated first NL Central matchup of the 2026 season. It's taken 24 games for the Brewers to match up with a divisional opponent, which is the third-most amount of games played to start a season without facing another team in their division. In both 1993 and 1998, the Brewers played 25 games before their first game against a division rival.

Now, that streak has come to an end as the Brewers welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates to American Family Field for a three-game set beginning tonight. 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes gets the ball for the Pirates tonight, continuing a string of tough pitching matchups for the Brewers that included a matchup against the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal yesterday afternoon.

However, Skenes and the Pirates will face a slightly different roster than the one Skubal and the Detroit Tigers saw yesterday. As announced by the Brewers just moments ago, former top prospect Tyler Black and left-hander Shane Drohan, who made his MLB debut earlier this season, have been called up from Triple-A. Carlos Rodriguez has been sent back down to Nashville, and early-season trade acquisition Luis Matos has been designated for assignment.

Brewers designate Luis Matos for assignment, promote Tyler Black and Shane Drohan to MLB roster

The writing was on the wall for Matos, who joined the Brewers via trade back on March 30. Matos was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants just before Opening Day and traded to the Brewers for cash considerations shortly thereafter, but he was never seen as a long-term solution for the Crew. Rather, he was a right-handed fill-in who the Brewers were hoping would catch fire while Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn were on the IL.

Catch fire, Matos did not. The former Top 100 prospect was given just 21 plate appearances to prove himself in Milwaukee, but after posting just four hits, all of which were singles, it became clear that Matos wouldn't be with the Brewers too much longer.

Taking Matos' place among the Brewers' position player group is the 25-year-old Tyler Black, who will hopefully get a true chance to prove himself at the major league level. Black debuted back in 2024, and has seen intermittent short stints with the Crew ever since, but he's never truly received an extended opportunity at the big league level. As a result, his career .620 OPS in 23 big-league games should not be used to draw any conclusions about his future potential.

A former top prospect, Black struggled to find a defensive home throughout his minor league and brief major league career. However, he's now settled into a corner outfield role that has been far more successful than his attempts to play various infield spots. Following his promotion, Black is expected to be the Brewers' left-handed hitting option in left field for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, the Crew has also made a change to their relief corps ahead of tonight's series opener. Right-hander Carlos Rodriguez, who tossed two solid, two-inning outings since his promotion to the major league roster back on April 18, has been sent back down to Triple-A. Left-hander Shane Drohan will take his spot in the Brewers' bullpen for the time being.

Drohan made his MLB debut for the Crew against his former team, the Boston Red Sox, back on April 8. However, that outing was as a starting pitcher, and now Drohan is presumably joining the Brewers as a reliever, where there should be a little less pressure for the rookie southpaw.

The Brewers take pride in the depth of their 40-man roster and rely on it to remain competitive throughout the 162-game season. Today's roster moves are another example of the Brewers' always-be-ready mentality, that has led many teams to be envious of their organizational excellence.

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