Brewers’ lopsided bullpen group could lead to tense spring training position battle

Roster battles are the lifeblood of spring training. During the exhibition slate designed to simply help players ramp up for the regular season, getting to see top prospects and end-of-bench reserves go all out in hopes of cracking the Opening Day roster is what makes baseball so great.

The Milwaukee Brewers are no stranger to such battles — remember the fight between Vinny Capra and Caleb Durbin for the starting third base job last year? — though this time around, their lineup is largely set. Perhaps someone will beat out Joey Ortiz as the starting shortstop (highly unlikely), or maybe the battle for the backup catcher job between top prospect Jeferson Quero and new addition Reese McGuire will be a close one, but that's about as exciting as things will get on the position player side barring a trade or big-name free-agent signing.

The pitching side of the equation is a lot more intriguing, starting with the No. 4 and 5 starter competition between Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, and Brandon Sproat. The latter two are Top 100 prospects, according to Baseball America and ESPN, who impressed in their MLB debuts in 2025, but they also have option years remaining and could spend some time in the bullpen while they harness their electric raw stuff. Meanwhile, Patrick has the most big-league experience but was so strong in the Brewers' bullpen at the end of last year that the team might consider keeping him there as the 2026 season gets underway.

Speaking of the bullpen, the relief group is where most roster battles figure to take place for the Brewers this year. With so many southpaws competing for just a few available jobs, how might the Crew sort through this logjam?

Rob Zastryzny, DL Hall appear destined for Brewers bullpen spring training battle

Let's assume, for now, that Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe are locked in as the eighth and ninth-inning firemen, respectively. That leaves six bullpen spots open for the Opening Day roster, including at least one in long relief.

Depending on the source, the Brewers are projected to field as many as six left-handed relievers in 2026, but let's use FanGraphs' roster resource as our template, which currently foresees five southpaws in the day-one bullpen. That quintet is comprised of Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, Ángel Zerpa, Rob Zastryzny, and DL Hall (with Grant Anderson, a righty, projected as the eighth reliever).

Given the former's recent dominance and history of shutting down left-handed batters, we'll assume Koenig is a lock as well. Ashby's importance to the team was proven in the playoffs last year when Pat Murphy treated him like a workhorse, and Zerpa is probably a sure bet as well given the fact that the Brewers gave up Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to acquire him. That's already three lefties accounted for, with Zastryzny and Hall still to go.

In truth, this is probably where the roster battle will take place. Picking Anderson and the loser of the Sproat-Henderson competition as the other two righties would give the bullpen a lot of versatility and balance, meaning that one of Zastryzny and Hall will need to beat the other out.

Zastryzny has no minor-league options remaining, though Hall probably deserves a longer look in the big leagues after failing to eclipse more than 43 innings in any prior season of his career. The loser could become a trade candidate, or in Hall's case, another arm to stash at Triple-A Nashville.

Having too many good relievers, especially left-handed ones, is a really good problem to have. And it's entirely possible the Brewers don't think this is a problem at all, and will roster all five left-handed pitchers while keeping Anderson or Sproat/Henderson down in the minors. But with Sammy Peralta and Robert Gasser also waiting in the wings, spring training will offer a definitive chance for Pat Murphy and the front office to make a final decision on the future of the bullpen.