Brewers should target one of these two Marlins relievers in a late-offseason trade

With less than 10 days until the Milwaukee Brewers' pitchers and catchers report to spring training, the team has two open spots on their 40-man roster. That flexibility gives Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office a few options as they fill out their roster prior to the start of the 2026 campaign.

The Brewers don't need to fill the roster spots with external additions; it's likely that recent minor league signing Reese McGuire ends up serving as the team's back-up catcher at the beginning of the season, and in such a scenario, he would require one of the two remaining 40-man roster spots. Even if McGuire does end up making the Opening Day roster and snatching a 40-man spot as a result, the Brewers will still have one open spot remaining, and there's nothing stopping them from freeing up another one if they feel a few more external additions are needed.

Here at Reviewing the Brew, we've often mentioned the Brewers' lack of right-handed options in the bullpen this offseason. Though Milwaukee has plenty of arms who could switch over to the bullpen, adding one more solid right-handed reliever would give manager Pat Murphy more options late in games as he looks to optimize match-ups.

However, the options on the free agent market are limited, and with payroll uncertainty stemming from the Brewers' recently announced TV deal with Major League Baseball, which is likely to generate less TV revenue for the team than in previous seasons, acquiring a right-handed reliever via trade feels more likely. If Arnold and company do elect to trade for a right-handed bullpen option prior to the start of the 2026 season, the Miami Marlins should be their first call.

Both Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender should be on Brewers' trade radar as offseason draws to a close

The Marlins, who have been under the guidance of President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix since November of 2023, are currently in the process of revamping their young core of players by capitalizing on the value of their talented pitching staff. Already this offseason, Bendix has traded starter Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and southpaw Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees, receiving plenty of prospect talent in return. Should Bendix look to continue this strategy, his team has two bullpen weapons that the Brewers, who have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball, should strongly consider flipping some prospect talent for: Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender.

Calvin Faucher

30-year-old right-hander Calvin Faucher is entering his fifth season in MLB. However, due to a lack of service time during his first two seasons in the big leagues, Faucher won't become a free agent until the conclusion of the 2029 season. On top of that, he maintains one remaining minor league option year -- something that the Brewers, who are constantly shuffling relievers back and forth between Triple-A and MLB, covet.

However, given Faucher's talent, it's likely he would instead be a staple in the big-league bullpen. On the surface, Faucher has posted back-to-back seasons with 53 or more appearances and an ERA of 3.28 or better. His underlying metrics tell a story of a pitcher who consistently induces soft contact with his five-pitch mix. Faucher possesses three fastball shapes -- a cutter, four-seamer, and sinker -- which is another trait that the Brewers generally target. He mixes in a curveball and a sweeper that both grade out well in terms of Stuff+ -- a metric that uses movement and velocity to grade pitches. Overall, Faucher had a 108 Stuff+ grade in 2025, indicating that his repertoire of pitches was 8% nastier than the average big-league arm last year. Only four Brewers, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, Jacob Misiorowski, and Abner Uribe had better Stuff+ grades in 2025.

Faucher is still in the pre-arbitration stage of his career, meaning he's set to earn just $775,000 in 2026, so acquiring him would have little effect on the Brewers' payroll situation. The prospect cost likely wouldn't be too severe either, perhaps something similar to what the Brewers gave up to acquire Nick Mears at the 2024 trade deadline.

Anthony Bender

Side-arm right-hander Anthony Bender is coming off an incredibly strong 2025 campaign. The now-31-year-old, who pitches from a 16-degree arm slot, posted a 2.16 ERA in 51 appearances for the Marlins last year. He's under team control for the next two seasons and still has a whopping three minor league option years remaining.

Bender is a much different pitcher from Faucher; his primary pitch is a frisbee sweeper that he throws 47% of the time. He pairs it with a strong 97 mph sinker, and the two pitches have a difference of 35.2 inches of horizontal break. Given the movement each offering, the two pitches grade out especially well when it comes to Stuff+. Paired with a tighter slider and a seldom-used changeup, Bender's overall arsenal received a Stuff+ grade of 115 in 2025.

Now in his third year of arbitration, Bender will earn a reasonable $2.81 million salary in 2026, which the Brewers can certainly afford if they believe in his profile. Given his salary and his just two remaining years of team control, Bender would likely cost slightly less than Faucher in terms of prospect capital, but being the more talented of the two, it's fair to assume the price would be relatively similar.