Brewers 2024 Opening Day Roster Projection 3.0: Final Bullpen Spots Up For Grabs

We are now just one week away from Opening Day of the 2024 season. The Brewers have cut down the number of players in major league camp yet again as the roster picture becomes clearer. There are just a few players remaining in battles for spots.

There are 33 active players in major league camp. There's also Brandon Woodruff on the 60 day IL and Devin Williams who will open the year on the IL and be moved to the 60 day once a 40 man spot is needed. That means the Brewers will need to cut seven more players to get down to their 26 man roster for Opening Day.

Bench spots are up for grabs as are the final few spots on the pitching staff. How does it look like this roster will shake out? Things have changed since our last projection, including a major injury. Let's dig in to our third roster projection of the spring with one week to go until Opening Day.

Catchers (3) - William Contreras, Gary Sanchez, Eric Haase

It'd be very difficult for the Brewers to cut Eric Haase at this point. He has slugged four homers this spring and has played exceptionally well. Haase is out of minor league options so he needs to be carried on the roster or put on waivers, or potentially even traded.

But with Gary Sanchez still slowed by a hand injury, he may not be available to be the sole backup to William Conteras behind the plate, making carrying Haase a necessity for Milwaukee.

His spot feels all but locked up at this point. Sanchez is likely going to be a DH primarily, but he'll still be listed here among the catchers. Carrying three catchers is not very common but the Brewers are in a unique position where they likely will have to to start the year.

Infielders (6) - Rhys Hoskins, Brice Turang, Willy Adames, Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz, Jake Bauers

Hoskins, Turang, and Adames are all locked in as the starting first baseman, second baseman, and shortstop respectively. As for how the rest of the infield shakes out, we got a lot of answers there with the last round of camp cuts.

Owen Miller, Oliver Dunn, and Vinny Capra were all optioned to Triple-A while Tyler Black was reassigned to minors camp. All four had outside shots of an Opening Day spot and Miller is the most notable name of the group because of his extensive big league time last year and first base availability. Miller's demotion all but ensures that Jake Bauers will make the Opening Day roster since he's out of minor league options and is the only potential backup to Hoskins at first.

That leaves third base and the utility spot left and Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz I am projecting to earn those spots over the remaining candidate Andruw Monasterio. Frelick is essentially a lock to make this team and I'm listing him in the infield instead of the outfield because of his expected playing time at third. Ortiz can serve as the utility infielder, capable of playing all three positions outside of first base and a strong defensive skillset. Still, Ortiz is going to play a lot more often than your typical utility infielder.

The ceiling is just higher with Ortiz over Monasterio for that final spot. Monasterio is solid defensively and can play a good shortstop, but Ortiz is just better there and the offensive potential is much higher with Ortiz than Monasterio, making him the likely choice for Pat Murphy.

Outfielders (4) - Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer

The outfield group has some competition left but the top four are pretty well defined. Yelich and Chourio are locks with their contracts and Murphy has already stated that Chourio is on the roster. Mitchell is essentially a lock as well. All three will get regular playing time this season and are expected to be big contributors.

The final fourth outfielder spot though is up for grabs but Joey Wiemer has the inside track and I think he'll get it over Blake Perkins. Wiemer has that prospect pedigree and can be a true 30-30 threat at the plate. The power is real, the speed is real, and he's made some adjustments this offseason that should allow him to unlock his full potential.

While the Cactus League numbers haven't shown a big turnaround for Wiemer, his numbers have been better than Blake Perkins', who has struggled hard, and the potential for Perkins to be a threat at the plate isn't very high.

Keeping Wiemer will give the Brewers the ability to rotate with Mitchel in the outfield with Frelick in that mix as well. He brings power potential off the bench as well as speed and excellent defense.

Starting rotation (5) - Freddy Peralta, DL Hall, Colin Rea, Wade Miley, Jakob Junis

It's already been declared that Freddy Peralta will start Opening Day, likely followed by DL Hall and Colin Rea for that first series of the season. With Hall making it and the other young pitching prospects all being reassigned to minors camp, the battle for the final rotation spots are down to a few veterans.

Wade Miley will be in the rotation if healthy. He's had a balky shoulder this spring but signs are pointing now to him being ready to go for that first week of the season, meaning he avoids an IL stint and will be on the rotster. The fifth spot appears likely to go to Jakob Junis, who could fill a variety of roles but appears primed to start in the rotation.

The other candidates in camp for a rotation spot to start the year are Joe Ross and Aaron Ashby, both of whom are coming off of missed seasons due to injury. Ross hasn't pitched in the majors the last two years and Ashby missed all of last year. One of them is likely to earn a bullpen spot as the swingman who can provide long relief.

It's hardly looking like the dominant group the Brewers had in their rotation a year ago, with a couple veteran innings eaters and a prospect trying to go from relieving to starting, but this is likely what the first turn through the rotation will look like.