6 Position battles that are up for grabs at 2024 Brewers spring training

Every year, there are roster spots and starting jobs that are up for grabs in spring training. The 2024 Brewers are slated to have several openings as the roster has turned over quite a bit from last season's end.

Gone are Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Adrian Houser, Tyrone Taylor, Rowdy Tellez, Jesse Winker, Mark Canha, and Carlos Santana. Joining the organization is Joey Ortiz, DL Hall, Oliver Dunn, Rhys Hoskins, Joe Ross, Eric Haase, and Jakob Junis.

While several players may have roster spots all but secured, their roles are not. Could they be a starter or will they be a backup? That's what spring training will help decide as these battles play out.

These are the six biggest roster battles for Brewers fans to watch in spring training 2024.

1. Third Base

Incumbent: Andruw Monasterio
Challengers: Tyler Black, Joey Ortiz

The hot corner has been a big need for the Milwaukee Brewers for a while. Last season, Andruw Monasterio came out of seemingly nowhere to earn regular playing time at that spot down the stretch. Josh Donaldson was also brought in late in the season but he remains a free agent.

Monasterio showed solid contact skills in 2023, but he lacks the power profile you'd like to see from a starting third baseman. The Brewers didn't bring in a veteran to take over the job and instead will let a pair of prospects challenge for at-bats at the position.

Tyler Black is one of the Crew's top hitting prospects, and he put up monster numbers last season across Double-A and Triple-A. GM Matt Arnold stated Black was in consideration for the third base job this offseason and if he continues to hit like he has been, it'll be difficult for him not to get the job. Black posted a .930 OPS last year with 18 homers and 55 stolen bases. He has power and speed as well as excellent contact skills and strike zone discipline.

Joey Ortiz is another top prospect that put up huge numbers in the upper minors last season. Although he doesn't have near the power or speed projection that Black does, he's a superior defender on the dirt and would be competing for the shortstop job if Willy Adames wasn't entrenched there. The Brewers have prioritized defense in the past which could give Ortiz a leg up in this battle.

Monasterio has reportedly shown up to spring training with a lot more muscle this year, perhaps with the goal in mind of adding more power to his game. If he's going to hold off these highly regarded prospects for an everyday job, he'll need to make that a bigger part of his game, but there's also the potential for Monasterio to earn the utility infield job because of his ability to play shortstop.

Ortiz and Monasterio are both on the 40 man roster while Tyler Black is not, which puts Black at a bit of a disadvantage, but there's always plenty of 40 man movement throughout spring training and Black is one of the Crew's top prospects. He'll be put on this roster soon enough, but he'll have to prove he's ready for one of those spots on Opening Day to win this battle.

2. Right Field

Contenders: Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer
Pretenders: Blake Perkins, Chris Roller

The outfield logjam will sort itself out eventually, it always does. But the battle to sort all that out begins in spring training. Christian Yelich is locked in and he's going to spend the bulk of his time in left field while also seeing some time at DH. Jackson Chourio wasn't given an 8 year, $82MM contract just to not play center field essentially every day.

That leaves right field and three of the Freshmen prospects who graduated last season fighting for it. Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Joey Wiemer are all deserving of regular at-bats but there's only one outfield spot remaining. Heading into their sophomore campaigns, each of these three players are facing a crucial season to prove they are as good as the prospect hype they came into the league with.

Garrett Mitchell has played very well in his MLB experience, hitting .278 with five homers, and a .795 OPS in 126 ABs but he suffered a shoulder injury last April that took him out for nearly the entire season. He came back late in the year, and when he's out on the field, he's proven to be an electric player that sparks the team.

Joey Wiemer spent most of the season in the majors, but struggled a bunch at the plate. He had spurts showing his immense raw power, but finished with just 13 homers in 367 ABs with a .204/.283/.362 slash line. Wiemer is a power-over-hit type of player that struggled with breaking balls last year. He worked on some adjustments late in the season and over the winter, and spring training will help show if those adjustments worked.

Sal Frelick debuted the latest of this trio because of a thumb injury he suffered in the minors, but he debuted with a bang and was pretty steady the rest of the season. Frelick hit .246/.341/.351 in 191 ABs. He regressed a bit from his debut, but he's expected to bring excellent bat to ball skills even though he has the lowest power potential of the group.

Blake Perkins and Chris Roller are both on the 40 man and will be trying to compete for a roster spot, but unless the Brewers trade one of these former first round picks and Top 100 prospects, it's a battle they aren't going to win.

In all likelihood, we'll see a rotation of these players early on until someone steps up and proves they are deserving of more at-bats and that manager Pat Murphy needs to play the hot hand. All three of Mitchell, Frelick, and Wiemer are excellent defenders, so no one has any advantage over the rest of the group there.

The Brewers have five starting caliber outfielders but can only play three on the grass at a time. It'll be fascinating to watch this battle play out over the next six weeks.

3. The 4th and 5th starting rotation spots

Veteran contenders: Colin Rea, Joe Ross
Talented, but unproven contenders: LHP Aaron Ashby, LHP DL Hall, LHP Robert Gasser, RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP Janson Junk

The Brewers starting rotation is going to look a whole lot different in 2024 than it did in 2023. Brandon Woodruff is gone. Corbin Burnes is gone. Adrian Houser is gone. The strength of the team has lost a ton of proven talent, but that leaves open plenty of opportunities.

The first three spots in the rotation seem locked in with Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, and Jakob Junis. The final two or potentially even three spots though are completely up for grabs and there are at least seven legitimate contenders to earn those jobs out of spring training.

There are a couple of veterans vying for spots. Colin Rea, who was an unsung hero for last season's rotation, stepping in when injuries decimated the group and providing steady innings, keeping the Brewers in games. Milwaukee re-signed him quickly this offseason with a nice raise, and he'll have a great chance to stick in the rotation in 2024.

Joe Ross has not pitched in MLB since 2021 after dealing with Tommy John surgery. He signed a major league deal with the Crew and could be a veteran innings eater if he's back to 100%. He never put up great numbers in his career, but he'll have an opportunity to crack the roster.

Then there's the talented, but unproven group of pitchers. Aaron Ashby was signed to a five year contract not long ago, but shoulder surgery wiped out his 2023 season and there's really no telling just how much the Brewers will be able to rely upon him this year. However, if he shows he's healthy in spring training and is pitching like we've seen him before the injury, Ashby should have the inside track to a rotation spot.

Three prospects are coming into camp with legitimate shots to make the rotation to start the year. DL Hall came over in the Corbin Burnes trade and the Brewers view him as a starter after spending the last two years primarily being a reliever in Baltimore. Robert Gasser spent all of last season in Triple-A and is ready to make the jump to the big leagues. Carlos F. Rodriguez dominated Double-A and earned a promotion to Triple-A in 2023 and will see big league opportunities at some point this year.

Jacob Misiorowski is not listed as a contender for one of these opening rotation spots despite being a non-roster invitee. Misiorowski has an outside chance to make the club right away as a reliever based on his talent, but the Brewers are developing him as a starter and he needs more development time there before they put him in the rotation.

4. Backup catcher

Contenders: Eric Haase, Gary Sanchez, Jeferson Quero

This may be one of the more interesting camp battles, especially considering it wasn't long ago that this wasn't going to be much of a battle at all. William Contreras is the starting catcher, that much is certain, but the backup job was made vacant after Victor Caratini left in free agency.

The Brewers signed veteran Eric Haase to a major league deal back in December and he appeared set to be the backup to Contreras. Prospect Jeferson Quero still hasn't played an inning of Triple-A ball and even though he's on the 40 man roster, he's likely to spend most of the season in the minors to continue developing.

Then, not long ago, the Brewers pounced on Gary Sanchez, reportedly signing him to a one year, $7MM contract. The deal hasn't been finalized yet and Sanchez is not in camp but he's expected to join the team once it becomes final. What the hold up is has not been made clear.

Once Sanchez is officially added, the backup catcher spot appears to be in flux. Sanchez can play regularly and spend time at DH. Do the Brewers want to have their sole backup catcher in the lineup at DH most days? If something happens to him or Contreras, the Brewers could be left without a DH or a backup. Could Milwaukee carry three catchers with Contreras, Sanchez, and Haase? For how long?

How much will Sanchez end up catching? That may be the ultimate decision point. Based on his salary, Sanchez is going to make this roster over Haase with all things else even. If the plan is for Sanchez to only catch in emergencies and primarily DH, then Haase will end up being the backup catcher.

Both Sanchez and Haase are veterans on major league deals with no minor league options. Carrying three catchers, even if Sanchez spends a lot of time at DH, isn't a roster recipe that works for very long.

6. Final bullpen spots

Contenders: Elvis Peguero, JB Bukauskas, Bryan Hudson, Thyago Vieira, Taylor Clarke, Trevor Megill

The bullpen is the one position group that is most in flux every single year on just about every team. There's always pitchers battling for the final few spots and there aren't enough spots to go around.

For the sake of the Brewers bullpen, we can assume Devin Williams, Joel Payamps, Hoby Milner, Abner Uribe, and Bryse Wilson have their spots secured on the 2024 roster. That leaves three openings, including the long relief job that will likely go to one of the pitchers who loses the rotation battle. That leaves two spots for the single inning relievers.

Elvis Peguero was one of the better arms in the bullpen last season and should be counted on quite a bit this season. I considered putting him as a lock, but few things are guarantees with bullpen roster math.

J.B. Bukauskas is one of those arms that may have a good shot at making the Opening Day roster but will find it tough to stick on the roster all season. Then again, we said that about Bryse Wilson last year and he proved himself to be a valuable arm. Bukauskas is out of minor league options this year. He pitched well in a limited sample in 2023, and is perhaps deserving of another look before the Brewers simply cut him loose.

Thyago Vieira is also out of minor league options. He was a late season add to the bullpen last year but pitched well and could earn himself one more look during the regular season to prove he belongs before the Brewers decide to put him on waivers.

Trevor Megill was also a valuable reliever that earned some higher leverage spots in 2023. It'll be tough to keep him and his big fastball off the roster, but since he has an option remaining and several other candidates do not, we could see Megill start the year in the minors.

Then there's the trade acquisitions of Bryan Hudson and Taylor Clarke. Hudson could be a second left hander alongside Hoby Milner. He didn't have a great debut with the Dodgers in 2023 but the Brewers paid a pretty high price to get him off DFA waivers. Taylor Clarke struggled in his Royals career, but he retains a minor league option and has a four pitch arsenal the Brewers find intriguing.

Roster spots will be won and lost over these next six weeks and how these players perform in spring training.