4 Brewers who could be next to lose a roster spot when some injured pitchers return

It never felt like we would get go this point, but the Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff is getting healthy again. A few of them have already returned from the injured list but others appear soon to join them on the team's roster.

DL Hall, a starter earlier this year, reportedly needs one more rehab outing before coming back and he has looked decent on his assignment. Joe Ross, another starter from early in the season, has just started a rehab assignment of his own.

And if that wasn't exciting enough, two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams has inched ever so close to yet another rehab assignment for the team. That will be a huge boost to the backend of a bullpen that includes All-Star snub Trevor Megill, the Crew's current closer.

All three pitchers are on the Brewers' 60-day injured list, which means a 40-man roster spot will have to be cleared in order for the team to reactivate any member of the trio. So once again, as we have done so many times already this year, it's time to speculate about who might lose their roster spot in the coming days.

1. RHP Janson Junk

When he was acquired in the trade that sent outfielder Hunter Renfroe to the Angels, the hope was that Janson Junk could be a future member of the Brewers starting rotation. Those days are now in the past and soon his time as a member of the Milwaukee organization could be too.

Junk has made just five appearances for the Brewers in two seasons and given up nine earned runs over 12.1 innings on 21 hits and three walks. He has since been converted to a reliever, which has gone okay at Triple-A Nashville but not so great that it's entirely necessary to keep him around.

2. RHP Rob Zastryzny

After a solid start to the season with Triple-A Nashville, veteran hurler Rob Zastryzny was one of the latest pitchers to have his contract selected from the minors and added to the active roster. His track record in limited experience has been spotless: 3.1 scoreless, hitless innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

What works against Zastryzny is that he has no minor league options remaining, which isn't great for a pitcher at the end of the staff totem pole. He's also 32 years old, so not exactly in his prime. As decent as he has looked, the roster math might just work against him.

3. RHP Kevin Herget

Another veteran reliever who has been lightly used this season, Kevin Herget has thrown just 8.2 innings for the Brewers in 2024. And though he hasn't been perfect like Zastryzny, he's still done pretty well, giving up just two earned runs on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

What might save a player like Herget over one like Zastryzny is that the former actually does have the ability to be optioned to the minors, in fact that's exactly where he is right now. Still, at 33 years old, Herget also isn't getting any younger and could be let go in favor of some of the younger pitchers who are returning.

4. LHP Hoby Milner

This one is a bit longer of a shot because the Brewers like Milner and probably don't want to lose one of the few lefties from their bullpen. But his season just has not been great as he currently has a 4.73 ERA in 40 appearances and is allowing opposing batters to hit .270 against him on the season.

A couple things could work in Milner's favor, though. For one, some of his underlying stats, such as a 3.20 FIP and 3.11 xERA, imply that there has perhaps been some bad luck at play while nearly all of his rate stats have been in line with his good Brewers seasons. He also has been one of the team's workhorses over the last two seasons, leading the team in appearances last year and placing second the year before. It's not easy to just up and cut a player you trust that much.

With how many pitchers are soon to return for the Brewers, multiple players from this list could end up being designated for assignment in the coming days. Unfortunately, these are the types of decisions that have to be made over the course of an MLB season.