Brewers: 5 Players On The 40 Man Roster In Danger Of Not Making It To Opening Day

2 of 3

Turnover on the 40 man roster is a never-ending process for the Milwaukee Brewers. Currently, the 40 man is full but if the Brewers want to make any additions, someone is going to have to lose their spot. While perhaps the bulk of Milwaukee's offseason work has been done, there's still plenty more they could do and plenty more change that could be made.

We've recently seen the additions of Bryse Wilson and Wade Miley to the pitching staff, followed by the subtractions of Trevor Kelley (DFA) and Justin Topa (Trade).

Kelley and Topa were down on the fringes of the 40 man roster and their spots were never guaranteed heading into 2023.

If the Brewers make any more moves, and they likely will, who could be next to lose their 40 man spot before Opening Day?

Candidate #1: RHP Gus Varland

The Brewers selected reliever Gus Varland from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 Draft back at the Winter Meetings. He figures to be an option for Milwaukee's bullpen in 2023. However he only recently became a full-time reliever and his experience was in Double-A.

This is not to say that Varland can't succeed in a bullpen role right now, but he's also a bit of a question mark and Rule 5 selections are no guarantee to stick on the 40 man roster through the season.

Once spring training starts, Varland will be competing for a bullpen role that has a number of candidates vying for it and only a few spots available. If Varland is unable to prove he's ready for a big league bullpen role right away, the Brewers could simply return him to the Dodgers and take him off the 40 man roster prior to Opening Day.

The Brewers aren't going to make a move involving Varland until they get into spring training and see him pitch in some games. But once the Cactus League gets started, everything will depend on how he looks and how he performs in various situations. He could very well succeed and earn a spot on the roster on Opening Day, but there's just as good a chance that he doesn't and gets booted from the 40 man and back to Los Angeles.

Candidate #2: 1B Jon Singleton

This is another player who's 40 man roster spot will come down to how he does once spring training gets started. The Brewers added Jon Singleton to their 40 man roster at the deadline for protection from the Rule 5 Draft. It was a peculiar decision at the time because the 31 year old Singleton is no longer a prospect and likely wasn't in any real danger of being selected.

Yet the Brewers chose to add him with both Rowdy Tellez and Keston Hiura still on the roster. It'll be tough to see Singleton finding a roster spot as a 1B/DH only with those two guys on the roster as well as Jesse Winker, who is likely to get the bulk of the ABs at DH in 2023.

Singleton is who he is at this point. He brings a lot of power, a very low batting average, walks a good amount, and strikes out at a pretty high clip. But he can have an impact in a limited role and the Brewers liked what he did in Triple-A in 2022 enough to add him to the 40 man roster.

The issue is, Singleton is out of minor league options, so now that he's on the 40 man, he has to either make the team out of camp or he gets DFAed off the 40 man.

Based on the current roster math, there isn't much of a path for Singleton to make the roster. Granted, that could change if the Brewers make a trade or two involving the players ahead of Singleton on the depth chart. Speaking of...

Candidate #3: 1B/DH Keston Hiura

Like Singleton, Keston Hiura is defensively limited and is out of minor league options. He's struggled the past three seasons to find a groove at the plate and the Brewers seem to be just about ready for a divorce with him.

With Hiura's recent numbers putting him on thin ice with the organization and now being out of options, he makes sense as either a trade candidate in the coming weeks or simply a DFA candidate.

Keston Hiura's trade value sure isn't what it once was. If the Brewers do trade Hiura, they won't be expecting much in return at this point. Other teams may not even bother to offer anyone to take Hiura and try to wait for a DFA where they can pick him up for nothing. There's bounce back value with him, but the Brewers may not be able to afford to give Hiura another year of ABs where he isn't producing and is striking out too much.

There's a chance Keston Hiura stays. There's a chance Jon Singleton stays. There's practically zero chance both of them are still on the 40 man roster come Opening Day.

Candidate #4: RHP Adrian Houser

A surprise? Perhaps. Unlike the earlier candidates, Adrian Houser isn't a candidate to be DFAed but he could not be on the Brewers 40 man roster come Opening Day. There's a chance the Brewers could look to trade him.

With the free agent signing of Wade Miley, who is likely to earn the 5th rotation spot behind Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, and Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser is on the outside looking in of the rotation picture. That likely pushes Houser to the long relief role in the bullpen.

The Brewers could very well stick him in that role and be happy to use him as the 6th starter when they want to lengthen their rotation. However, other teams would likely be very willing to have Houser in their regular starting five. That makes him a potential trade candidate and the addition of Miley makes it a bit easier for the Brewers to stomach a departure from their starting group to address another hole elsewhere on the roster.

Candidate #5: RHP Bryse Wilson

I know the Brewers just got Bryse Wilson, but that doesn't mean he'll stick around for Opening Day. The Pittsburgh Pirates designated him for assignment, and that's how the Brewers were able to get him. They've told him to come to camp to compete for a starting rotation spot. That is going to be an uphill battle.

Like other players on this list, Wilson is out of minor league options. Should he fail to make the rotation, the bullpen is another place that Wilson could go, but that has plenty of candidates itself. Could Wilson be the long relief option? Not if Adrian Houser is filling that role. The Brewers won't carry two long relievers like that on the active roster.

Perhaps the Brewers can work some magic with Wilson and unleash the talent and potential that made him a Top 100 prospect not too long ago. But they won't have long to work with him before they have to make a decision on him. If Wilson can't earn a rotation spot and the Brewers retain all their other rotation candidates, it gets difficult to see Wilson cracking the Opening Day roster, which means he'll have to fall off the 40 man roster and get DFAed once again.

For some of these players, their fate rests on their performance in spring training and for others, they may end up traded before we reach Opening Day. The one thing we do know, is that there will continue to be changes to the 40 man between now and Opening Day.

Next. 3 Sensible Trade Packages for Rays 3B Yandy Diaz. dark

Home / Brewers News