3 Roster Moves The Brewers Should Make For Final Week Of Season
The Brewers have some moves to make before the season ends
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The Milwaukee Brewers appear primed to make some roster moves before their final regular season homestand begins on Tuesday. The minor league season is done, there are several players on rehab assignments that could return and some minor league prospects that are deserving of promotions.
The NL Central is almost wrapped up. Just one more win or Cubs loss will officially clinch the division and it's basically just a formality at this point. The Brewers need to prepare themselves for the postseason by getting their best players and the players they can rely on in October up on the roster so the team is in the best position possible to make a run deep into October.
How can they do that? By making these roster moves.
Brewers roster move to make #1: Activate Garrett Mitchell, Option Blake Perkins to Triple-A, place Jesse Winker on 60 day IL
The move to activate Garrett Mitchell appears imminent. He's spent the last week and a half on rehab assignment in Triple-A after undergoing shoulder surgery back in April. He's made a quick recovery in order to get back this year and with no more possible rehab at-bats, it's time to activate him.
Although Mitchell may not be thrown into an everyday role right away, he can provide speed off the bench, quality pinch hit at-bats, and exceptional defense in the outfield. Mitchell provides a spark when he's out on the field. We saw that last year when he came up and we saw that earlier this year when he was healthy. He'll be a huge boost to this team not only in performance, but morale as well.
In order to activate Mitchell, I could see Blake Perkins getting optioned down to Triple-A to clear room on the active roster. But Mitchell was on the 60 day IL, meaning a 40 man spot will have to be cleared as well. That's where putting Jesse Winker on the 60 day will clear a spot. Winker was on rehab as well, but it's difficult to see the Brewers choosing to activate Winker considering how much he's struggled this season. Another option would be to DFA Brian Anderson, who hasn't started a game in over a month, but they should hold that for a different transaction...
Brewers roster move to make #2: Select Tyler Black, Designate Brian Anderson for assignment
Tyler Black has done nothing but rake down in the minor leagues this season. He was just named co-minor league player of the year in the organization and the 23 year old finished the minor league season with a .284 average, .930 OPS, 25 doubles, 12 triples, 18 homers, and 55 stolen bases. He's put up video game numbers all season.
Upon his promotion to Triple-A, Tyler Black was even better than he was in Double-A! He hit .310 with a .942 OPS as a member of the Sounds. His speed, on-base ability, and power make him a very valuable player when it comes to a postseason push. He can pinch run, pinch hit, or play everyday with the numbers he's putting up. Black deserves to be on this roster and they can find room for him.
Josh Donaldson gets on base late and you want a pinch runner? Tyler Black. Rowdy Tellez or Carlos Santana need a pinch runner? Tyler Black. He can play the infield position you need, he's incredibly fast, and if you need him to bat again later, he provides quality at-bats too.
Brian Anderson's time on this roster has to come to an end at some point. It's clear he's not in Craig Counsell's plans. Why is he still here? Anderson and Black play the same position and Black can provide a lot more value than Anderson can at his best, which he hasn't been at in quite some time.
This move makes too much sense to not do. Black has been productive and proven himself worthy of a promotion. Anderson is healthy but hasn't been allowed to play. Enough wasting a roster spot with Anderson, this team will be better served having a body that will play in Black.
Brewers roster move to make #3: Select LHP Robert Gasser, Designate LHP Andrew Chafin for assignment
This is a move that the Brewers maybe should make, but appear unlikely to pull the trigger on. Andrew Chafin has struggled since coming over at the Trade Deadline and is near the bottom of the bullpen trust tree for manager Craig Counsell. Chafin only comes up in low leverage situations where the game outcome is usually already decided and he's even had struggles putting clean innings together in those spots.
Robert Gasser has been exceptional this season in Triple-A, posting a 3.79 ERA and leading the International League in strikeouts. He's been worthy of a promotion but there hasn't been a spot in the rotation to bring him up in. In this case, he'd probably pitch out of the bullpen during this final week of the season but the Brewers haven't been putting him in those spots in Triple-A, making this a sub-optimal fit.
However, I could see a path to Gasser pitching some innings in a bulk role this final week. As Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta make their final turns through the starting rotation and the team prepares for October, those three guys are likely to have short starts so they can be at 100% when it comes to the Wild Card round. That will leave a lot of innings for the bullpen to cover and someone like Gasser could take those innings.
The Brewers likely would've preferred Aaron Ashby come up and fill that role, but it's been reported that he's not expected to be activated despite being on rehab assignment. The results on the field haven't gone well for Ashby on rehab and he's not going to get the call, which pushes Robert Gasser closer to the front of the line.
This is the move I think they should make, giving Gasser an opportunity, but the situation I see as most likely is bringing back up Colin Rea and optioning someone like J.B. Bukauskas. Rea didn't report to Nashville despite being optioned and seems primed to return for the final week if the Brewers need it.
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