Brewers DFA two relievers to make room for deadline acquisitions

The trade deadline came and went, and while the Milwaukee Brewers didn't go "all in" as some fans hoped they would with the team holding the best record in baseball, they did swing a few trades that will impact their big league roster. When all was said and done, the Brewers acquired two players who are in need of a spot on the 40-man roster, while giving up zero players from the 40-man. Nestor Cortes, the biggest name that the Brewers parted with at the deadline, still had yet to be transferred from the 60-day IL to the 40-man roster, so trading him to the San Diego Padres didn't free up a roster spot.

Outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who the Brewers acquired from the Padres for Cortes, and reliever Shelby Miller, who the team acquired right before the deadline from the Arizona Diamondbacks, were each in need of a 40-man roster spot. In order to free up spots, the Brewers made a pair of difficult decisions in designating two relief pitchers with big league experience for assignment.

Brewers designate Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero for assignment to make room on 40-man roster for trade deadline acquisitions

Shortly after the Brewers announced each of their two deadline deals had officially gone through, they revealed who on the 40-man roster was designated for assignment to make room for the newest players. The team opted for Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero, two relief pitchers who have spent a considerable amount of time in the big league bullpen in the past, but have spent most of their 2025 seasons in Triple-A with the Nashville Sounds.

Neither Hudson nor Peguero was having a particularly strong 2025 campaign, but the former was a legitimate All-Star candidate a season ago, and the latter was a mainstay in the Brewers' bullpen for the last two seasons. This year, Hudson holds a 6.84 ERA in 25 appearances for the Sounds, while Peguero has a 3.55 ERA in 27 appearances.

Given their track record and the fact that each of them has big league experience, it makes it unlikely that they will pass through waivers without being scooped up by another team. If that happens, you can essentially factor them into the trades that the Brewers made yesterday, which could make the return that the front office got look slightly worse.

Additionally, while the Hudson move makes sense — his success a season ago wasn't replicable given his underlying metrics — parting ways with Peguero would be more difficult. Peguero has missed out on the big league roster this year not because of his performance, but moreso because the Brewers just have too many good relievers. It's peculiar that the team chose to DFA him over someone like outfielder Steward Berroa, who just joined the organization and shares the same position with the person replacing him: Lockridge.

Fingers crossed that each of these two players passes through waivers, as they each hold some considerable upside, but given the need for relievers at this time of year, don't expect them both to remain in the Brewers' organization.