5 Brewers Who Will Make The 2024 Opening Day Roster But Won't Last The Season

There's still plenty of offseason left to go before we reach Opening Day. A lot can change between now and then, but a lot of Opening Day roster spots can already be assumed to be spoken for. However once the season gets underway, all bets are off.

The Brewers have repeatedly emphasized that the roster fluctuates often and the Opening Day roster is just the roster for one day. A lot of times we see a transaction before the second game. Last year, the Brewers used 59 players. Several players who make the Opening Day roster won't make it to the end of the season.

Last year, that list included Javy Guerra, Matt Bush, Gus Varland, Peter Strzelecki, and Luke Voit.

Coming into 2024, here are five Brewers in position to make the Opening Day roster, but won't last through 162 games.

1. RHP J.B. Bukauskas

Milwaukee's bullpen is almost always changing, especially early on in the season as the Brewers figure out who they can trust and who they can't. Optionable players tend to go up and down but players that are out of minor league options can't go down.

J.B. Bukauskas is one of those players that's vying for a bullpen spot on Opening Day but is out of minor league options. Being out of options gives Bukauskas a better shot of making the roster to start the year, but his spot in the organization is tenuous.

Bukauskas appeared in just five games for Milwaukee last season and he didn't give up a run in six innings of work. He did deal with injuries that limited his opportunities. Heading into 2024, he's not among the group of trusted relievers for manager Pat Murphy.

Given that Bukauskas has shown well in his few opportunities and he's out of options, he has a good chance to make the Opening Day roster, but he won't have much time to prove himself as a trusted option. Any sort of a slip up and Bukauskas could find himself on waivers. Because of that, it's unlikely he makes it to the end of the 2024 season in a Brewers uniform.

3. INF Jahmai Jones

Jahmai Jones had an incredible moment in his Brewers debut, smacking a bases clearing three run double to instantly become a legend among the fanbase. Outside of that, Jones didn't do that much, earning just 11 plate appearances and spending most of the rest of the season in Triple-A. Jones was brought in as depth when injuries ravaged the infield.

There's plenty of opportunity in the Brewers infield right now and Jones is out of minor league options. As it stands right now, he's projected to earn an Opening Day roster spot. He can't be sent down and the Brewers haven't exactly added pieces to their infield yet this offseason, which leans things in his favor when it comes to setting the initial roster for the season.

However, that doesn't mean Jones is going to stay on the roster all season long. Jones had some prospect pedigree back in the day but that shine has clearly worn off and he's struggled to prove he belongs in the big leagues. The Brewers intend to compete and Jones is going to have to be more productive at the plate to stay on the roster. He can play several positions, which is nice, but his lack of flexibility with moving up and down from the minor leagues means he'll struggle to keep a 26 man roster spot all year.

No matter what happens with Jones in 2024, he'll forever be remembered by Brewers fans for that bases clearing double in his Brewers debut. But he'll need a couple more moments like that and need them consistently in order to stick around through the entire season.

4. RHP Joe Ross

The Brewers signed free agent veteran Joe Ross to a major league deal this offseason to help address the pitching depth shortage. Milwaukee hasn't done much else to address that depth problem to this point and Ross currently is slotted as the No. 5 starter in the rotation. However, it'd be a little surprising if Ross is still in the rotation come the end of the season.

Ross hasn't pitched in the big leagues in two years and while the Brewers believe he's good to go, his performance simply may not be up to snuff. At the same time, the Brewers are loaded with pitching prospects in the upper minors that are just about ready to take over spots in the rotation but not ready enough for the Brewers to go into the season with them in the starting five.

Ross' deal is cheap enough that the Brewers can move on without a second thought if he struggles and the kids prove they're ready for an opportunity. Robert Gasser, Carlos F. Rodriguez, and Jacob Misiorowski all could earn big league innings this year in that rotation. They're the future of that group and Milwaukee will want to give them opportunities. Those opportunities won't come at the expense of a Burnes, Peralta, or Miley though, they'll come at the expense of someone like Ross, especially if he struggles.

While Ross could be pushed to a bullpen or swingman role, the roster churn has the potential to cost Ross his spot eventually. If the Brewers add another starting pitcher this offseason, Ross is already on the outside looking in for this rotation and is teetering on the back end of the roster. Without minor league options, any struggle could lead to a DFA so the Brewers can bring up a young arm that still has options.

Ross hasn't had a sub-4.00 ERA since 2016 and if that trend continues, there will come a point in the season where the roster math does not work out in Ross' favor.

5. RHP Taylor Clarke

Every year the Brewers stock up on some more bullpen arms. Some work out and become trusted options while others struggle and see themselves cut from the roster. Taylor Clarke, acquired from the Royals for a pair of prospects, could fall into the latter category.

The 30 year old Clarke has a career 5.03 ERA in five MLB seasons. He doesn't have a truly elite pitch. The best thing he does according to Baseball Savant is his 98th percentile Chase%. He gets hitters to chase, but he's also in the 1st percentile in Barrel% and 6th percentile in groundball percentage. So he gives up a lot of hard contact and it's usually in the air. That's a bad combination.

Even though Clarke has a minor league option remaining, a crowded bullpen picture and a poor record of results makes Clarke a solid bet to not finish the season in the Brewers organization.

Clarke's best season came in 2022 when he had a 4.04 ERA. Of the Brewers bullpen arms from 2023 that are returning this year, a 4.04 ERA would rank as the worst ERA of the entire group. Clarke's best season would be the worst performance of the entire Brewers bullpen.

The Brewers see something in Clarke, which is why they acquired him. They also saw something in Javy Guerra, Matt Bush, and others that didn't end up working out. Clarke wasn't able to find success in his previous five seasons and now he joins an elite group that he simply may not be able to keep up with.