Brewers' grueling August schedule forces difficult bullpen roster decision

To start the month of August, the Milwaukee Brewers completed their three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on the West Coast. Without an off-day, the Brewers traveled to Milwaukee for a seven-game homestand, which they are currently in the midst of, against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Following the completion of their series against the Twins tomorrow afternoon, the Brewers will travel back to the West Coast, without an off-day, for a three-game set with the San Diego Padres and a four-gamer against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Only then, before they start a two-series homestand, will the Brewers have a day off.

That stretch of 17 games in 17 days, which includes two West Coast road trips, has forced the Brewers' pitching staff into an uncomfortable spot. With the luxury of adding both Kyle Harrison and Dustin May to the rotation this week, Milwaukee elected to go with a six-man rotation for at least this week and likely through the next turn through the rotation as well. Alongside Harrison and May, Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser remain in the rotation.

A six-man rotation is great for Milwaukee's young starting staff, many of whom are approaching career-high innings counts and could use the added days off, but it puts a strain on the Brewers' bullpen -- one that requires a frequent cycling of arms in order to keep fresh arms available. With a seven-man bullpen instead of the typical eight-man relief corps, Milwaukee has to be strategic about how they use their 'pen, which can lead to some difficult decisions.

Already, the Brewers optioned rookie right-handers Brandon Sproat and Garrett Stallings to Triple-A earlier in the week, despite the former being a member of the big-league starting rotation for the entire year and the latter doing his job as the multi-inning, low-leverage reliever in the Brewers' bullpen. They also optioned right-hander Grant Anderson, who had spent the entire season in the major league bullpen, to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Harrison's return.

Ahead of Saturday's game against the Twins, the Brewers made another difficult decision. After he turned in a strong three innings of relief on Friday night, Bryse Wilson was designated for assignment to make room for a fresh arm in Lyon Richardson.

Brewers DFA Bryse Wilson after best outing of the year in favor of fresh arm as brutal scheduling stretch continues

Wilson, who reunited with the Brewers at the beginning of July, was putting together a strong stretch in Milwaukee's 'pen. In six appearances with the Crew over the last month, Wilson posted a 2.63 ERA, while covering 13.2 innings and not issuing a single walk. On multiple occasions, including Friday night's opener with the Twins, Wilson saved the Brewers' bullpen by covering several innings in a low-leverage situation.

Coming off his strong performance on Friday night, manager Pat Murphy noted how hard it was to send Wilson away after he "did his job multiple times," before noting that if the Brewers had a full bullpen right now, Wilson maybe could have avoided being designated for assignment. Alas, such is the difficult reality facing a team who needs to navigate a grueling scheduling stretch while also trying to provide rest for their young starters whenever they can.

Wilson heads to waivers, where he faces an uncertain future. It's certainly possible another team scoops him up and has him fill a similar role to the one he did with the Brewers, especially given all of the moving pieces on other rosters after the trade deadline. If he does pass through waivers, Wilson would have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, but given the amount of success he's had in the Brewers' organization compared to the other stops of his MLB journey, it's certainly possible he signs a minor league deal with Milwaukee and remains a depth option in Triple-A.

Meanwhile, Lyon Richardson, who the Brewers signed to a minor league deal back in early June, joins Milwaukee's big-league bullpen for the first time this year. Richardson, who has compiled 56.2 innings of big-league experience over the last four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, had a 4.20 ERA in 30 innings with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds over the last two months. Richardson will likely fill a similar role in the Brewers' bullpen as the low-leverage, multi-inning option in Milwaukee's relief corps.

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