Brewers' late-September roster shuffle continues with flurry of moves before final series

The Milwaukee Brewers are about to begin their final series of the regular season, but with the top overall seed in the postseason already locked up, there really isn't much for the Brew Crew to play for during their final three games. Instead, the Brewers' attention during these final days of the most successful regular season in franchise history is locked in on preparing for the postseason.

Some of the preparation involves making sure everyone is rested and at full strength when Game 1 of the NLDS arrives on Saturday, October 1. As such, the Brewers have already executed a number of roster moves during the final weeks of the regular season, making use of the expanded September roster to add players who can give their anticipated postseason contributors extra rest.

This strategy has already involved left-hander Colton Gordon replacing right-hander Garrett Stallings in the big-league bullpen, which was followed by Gordon turning in a five-inning bullpen-saving performance in Game 1 of the Brewers' series against the Philadelphia Phillies. To keep a fresh arm in the bullpen, the Brewers optioned Gordon to the minor leagues the following day and replaced him with right-hander Lyon Richardson. Now, two days later, Richardson has been designated for assignment and replaced with Bryse Wilson, who is returning from the injured list. However, that's not the only roster move the Brewers made ahead of their series opener with the St. Louis Cardinals tonight.

OF Brandon Lockridge and RHP Bryse Wilson replace 1B Andrew Vaughn and RHP Lyon Richardson on Brewers' roster

Wilson is returning to the Brewers' big-league bullpen after a lower back strain kept him on the IL for since August 31. Despite having an excellent season with the Brewers, evidenced by a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings, Wilson is on the postseason roster bubble. While he's unlikely to eventually earn a spot on the NLDS roster, he can cover meaningful innings for the Brewers during this final series and serve as necessary pitching depth in October.

Meanwhile, Vaughn's placement on the IL at this time of the season may initially cause concern among the Brewers' fanbase, but thankfully, his upcoming stint on the IL won't impact his postseason availability. Vaughn has been dealing with an illness since the start of the week, and wasn't improving. Rather than essentially play a man down over the final days of the regular season, which certainly wouldn't help the Brewers give rest to their postseason position player group, the Brewers are electing to send Vaughn to the IL for the final three days of the regular season and replace him with outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

That said, since Vaughn's placement on the IL is retroactive to September 22, he's eligible to, and almost certainly will, return to the lineup before the Brewers' postseason opener on October 3. In other words, had a placement on the IL impacted Vaughn's postseason eligibility, the Brewers certainly would not have made the move they did today.

Milwaukee's late-season roster shuffle continues, but thankfully this year it's due to the Brewers wanting to keep players fresh for the postseason and isn't jeopardizing their playoff roster. With three games carrying little consequence against the Cardinals this weekend and then five days off before the NLDS, the Brewers should be more than rested for their postseason run.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow