Brewers' unchanged NLCS roster gives Pat Murphy necessary versatility in rematch with Dodgers

The Milwaukee Brewers somewhat surprisingly included 13 pitchers on their NLDS roster this year, after typically opting for 12 pitchers for the best-of-five series in years past. The consistent reasoning for the change from manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold was that a team can't anticipate all that's going to happen in a series, and having enough pitching to cover a potential extra innings scenario is necessary.

The flip side of that roster construction strategy is that if everything goes relatively according to plan, like it did for the Brewers' pitching staff in the NLDS, some of those 13 pitchers may not be used in the series. Such was the case for southpaws Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, and right-hander Chad Patrick in the Brewers' initial postseason series of 2026.

However, while Harrison, Drohan, and Patrick didn't pitch in the NLDS, the trio is expected to have a more important role in Milwaukee's best-of-seven set with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Said Murphy on Saturday afternoon before the Brewers' officially released their NLCS roster in regard to his trio of unused pitchers, "I anticipate all of them having a role."

Though Murphy hinted at the trio remaining on the Brewers' postseason roster, it wasn't officially confirmed until Milwaukee's NLCS roster was released moments ago. As seen in the graphic below, the same 26 players who made up the Brewers' NLDS roster will make up the NLCS roster. The announcement, and the inclusion of Harrison, Drohan, and Patrick, serves as a reminder of just how many pitching options Murphy and the Brewers have to work with in their matchup with the Dodgers.

Brewers expected to make use of full 13-man pitching staff in NLCS rematch with Dodgers

The Brewers aren't necessarily hoping to make use of their pitching depth in Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS. In an ideal world, the Brewers will simply use starters Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson and their high-leverage relievers during their first two matchups with the Dodgers.

However, Games 3 and 4 are where things could get interesting. The Brewers are leaning towards Robert Gasser as their Game 3 starter and have not yet confirmed who they are lining up to start Game 4. Presumably, Dustin May will factor into the mix, but the Brewers could also piggyback a lefty like Drohan or Harrison with May, who covered just three innings in his NLDS start, to get the ball to Milwaukee's high-leverage arms.

Regardless of when they are used, the fact that Milwaukee's NLCS matchup with Los Angeles could go seven games makes it far more likely that Murphy will have to dip deeper into his bag of tricks than he did during the NLDS. Thankfully, due to the impressive depth of Milwaukee's NLCS pitching staff, Murphy is afforded the luxury of continuing to optimize matchups even as there are more innings to cover in the longer series.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow