Brewers news: Trevor Megill injury update, Bruce Zimmermann DFA, Chad Patrick starts

Should the Milwaukee Brewers avoid a sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres with a win in today's series finale, and the Philadelphia Phillies drop a second straight game to the Miami Marlins, the Brew Crew will officially secure the best regular season record in all of MLB in 2025.

In doing so, the Brewers will not only ensure home-field advantage throughout the postseason, but they will also lock in a date with the winner of the 4-seed vs. 5-seed Wild Card series match-up. While that match-up is not yet finalized, it projects to be a battle between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, meaning the Brewers would avoid playing the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

While the when and where of their first playoff game may already be set in stone (Saturday, October 4 at American Family Field), the Brewers still have to figure out who will be on their postseason roster. In the last few days, several storylines have emerged that offer clarity in that regard.

Trevor Megill targeting final tune-up in team's final regular season game

While the injury to Brandon Woodruff remains at the front of Brewers fans' minds, not to be overlooked is the impact that not having their closer, Trevor Megill, for the postseason would have on the team's chances in October.

Megill went down with a flexor strain in late August, and at the time it appeared as if the Brewers' All-Star closer would spend the minimum stint on the injured list. However, after not bouncing back as he hoped from an earlier bullpen session, Megill's timeline was pushed back, with the concern of not being able to pitch in a game prior to the end of the season arising.

Luckily, it now appears as though the Brewers will be able to squeeze Megill into one last real game setting before the team embarks on their postseason run. According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, Megill felt much better following his bullpen session on Tuesday afternoon in San Diego, and is targeting a return to the bullpen for the Brewers' regular season finale on Sunday.

It's huge news for the Brewers, who have gone without key relievers in the postseason before. Having the back-end of their bullpen set in October allows Pat Murphy to get creative with how he uses the rest of his bullpen, namely Jared Koenig and Abner Uribe, who will presumably cover the 7th and 8th innings should everything go well for Megill over the next few days.

Brewers designate Bruce Zimmermann for assignment following six-inning start on Tuesday night

Multiple unforeseen injuries have popped up for the Brew Crew in recent weeks, and the result is a pitching staff that is both trying to rest up for the playoffs but also competing short-handedly for the top seed in the National League. With both Woodruff and José Quintana out of the starting rotation for the time being, Milwaukee needed someone to step up and pitch deep into Tuesday night's game, offering relief for the rest of the team's pitching staff.

While the results were disappointing for four-year veteran Bruce Zimmermann, who was making his first major league start of the year, he gave the Brewers exactly what they needed: a six-inning start on 91 pitches.

It's an unfortunate series of events, going from pitching all season for a team's Triple-A squad to finally cracking the major league roster to then being designated for assignment following your only appearance, but Zimmermann knew his time on the big league roster would be brief.

At 30 years of age, with a solid showing in Triple-A this season and a fine track record in the big leagues, Zimmermann will not doubt earn a shot at a big league roster come springtime, and it's possible that that opportunity comes with the Brewers, who clearly like his profile and will continue to need starting pitching depth at the Triple-A level next season.

Chad Patrick set to start series finale in San Diego, Quinn Priester's start pushed back to Friday

Quinn Priester was originally slated to toe the rubber first for the Brew Crew in Wednesday afternoon's matinee, but last night, manager Pat Murphy told team insiders that Chad Patrick would instead make his 23rd start of the season, as reported by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, among others.

As Rosiak notes, the move could purely be to give Priester an extra two days of rest between starts (the Brewers have an off-day tomorrow), but another possible explanation was presented by McCalvy in an article for MLB.com this morning. McCalvy writes, "Murphy said the switch was to give Priester an extra day of rest in what would be his final regular-season start. It’s notable, perhaps, that doing so denies the Padres an extended look at Priester, should these teams meet again in the postseason."

As previously mentioned, it looks likely that the Brewers will end up playing either the Padres or Cubs in their first playoff series next weekend. With Priester almost guaranteed to get the ball in one of the team's first three games, electing not to throw him this afternoon reduces the familiarity that the Padres hitters would have with his arsenal, just as McCalvy expertly pointed out.

Could this be the same reason that the Brewers opted for a newcomer to the roster in Zimmermann on Tuesday night? Is it the reason that Pat Murphy has shaken things up with the lineup, putting Yelich in the leadoff spot? Is Murphy trying to confuse San Diego by showing them different things than they would see in a potential playoff series? It's certainly possible.

Regardless, for peace of mind's sake, the Brewers could use a win this afternoon, and it will be Patrick to get them started on the right foot. Patrick, who holds a 3.66 ERA in 25 appearances this season, could also be auditioning for a spot on the postseason roster with today's start. Should Woodruff and Quintana not be able to pitch in the Crew's first postseason series, Patrick becomes an important piece of the puzzle.