Brewers playoff roster projection for 2024 NL Wild Card leaves off key veteran

The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the postseason and will play in the best-of-three Wild Card round. These games will be at home and Milwaukee will be hoping to get a playoff series win for the first time since 2018.

How will that team be constructed though? Rosters shrink back down to 26 players, and the Brewers can choose anyone from their 40 man roster. Minor league options are not necessary, none of that usual roster construction math applies. It is only about building the best roster for that three game series, and then the roster can be changed for the next series.

The Brewers don't even know who their opponent will be yet, as they are awaiting the conclusion of a double-header between the Mets and Braves on Monday. Depending on who their opponent is could cause the Brewers to change how they make their roster decisions. Nevertheless, we can project with confidence a pretty large portion of what the Brewers roster will be for that first round.

Brewers playoffs: 2024 Wild Card roster projection

Outfielders (3): Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell

The injury to Sal Frelick on Friday is likely to knock him out of the Wild Card round. Pat Murphy did not seem confident that Frelick would be able to play soon, even though nothing has been ruled out. It's a matter of how quickly his bruise can heal. Perhaps Frelick stands a better chance of making the NLDS roster should the Brewers win this first series. Until then, the Brewers are likely to carry just their three true outfielders.

Infielders (7): Willy Adames, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers, Andruw Monasterio, Tyler Black

Because the Brewers only have to drop one position player from the current 28 man active roster and Sal Frelick is already out, that leaves open an opportunity for Isaac Collins to make the team. The starting infield is set, it's highly unlikely the Brewers would leave off Bauers or Monasterio, so the final decision really comes down to Collins or someone else.

Following the Frelick injury, Tyler Black made his way to the Brewers clubhouse. He hasn't been activated yet since Frelick was not placed on the IL, but Milwaukee would not be bringing him into town if he wasn't in strong consideration for a roster spot.

Since Collins hasn't exactly been lighting things up since his arrival, I'll project that Black takes the final position player spot. He has experience in the outfield and if the Brewers need a backup outfielder, either he can go out there or Jake Bauers can and Black will be the backup to Hoskins at first base.

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

The Brewers have carried three catchers since the middle of the season when Christian Yelich hit the injured list and there doesn't appear to be any reason to believe they will stop now. Haase has been a solid presence at the plate while Sanchez has seen a lot of time at DH and William Contreras continues to do his thing.

Starting pitchers (4): Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, Frankie Montas, Tobias Myers

The starting rotation has been pretty solidified for several weeks now. In a short series, the Brewers don't need to carry all five starters and they have this group lined up a certain way. Colin Rea has been a steady veteran all season, throwing 167.2 IP with a 4.29 ERA. His ability to eat up innings and give the team a chance to win has made him a key veteran on this club.

However, Rea just threw 106 pitches in Sunday's start. He would only maybe be available out of the bullpen in a very short burst in this first round series and because of that, Rea appears unlikely to make the Wild Card roster. The Division Series is a likely place for him to return but his start on Sunday largely confirms he won't pitch in this first round.

As for who starts which games, Peralta likely gets Game 1. After that, it is anybody's guess. Civale and Montas have been lined up in that order after Peralta this last turn through the rotation, so that's perhaps the likeliest possibility.

Bullpen (9): Devin Williams, Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig, Joe Ross, Aaron Ashby, Nick Mears, DL Hall, Bryan Hudson

The bullpen is where some tough decisions have to get made. How do the Brewers want to construct it? Let's start with the locks. Williams, Megill, Payamps, Koenig, Ross, and Ashby are surefire picks for the bullpen.

That leaves three spots remaining.

DL Hall has pitched pretty well in his opportunities. Since returning in August, Hall has a 3.65 ERA that's largely come from a couple of blow up outings against Arizona. If Arizona if the Brewers opponent, they may re-think putting Hall on the roster, but largely Hall is in a good spot to make it.

Pat Murphy said Sunday "We know basically who's on the club. It comes down to three or four moves that it might be a different three or four moves if we're good enough to continue on" when asked about the uncertainty of the opponent affecting roster decisions.

Nick Mears returned from injury this final week to get his feet back under him before the playoffs. Although he did give up a home run, he's largely in good position to make the roster as well.

That leaves the final spot in the bullpen that is likely going to come down to Hoby Milner and Bryan Hudson. Pat Murphy commented earlier in the week that Hudson was likely to be a factor in the postseason, even though he's been optioned to Triple-A for most of September. Milner has struggled for most of the season and he hasn't been much better since his return from the IL. Bryan Hudson has been a big piece of this bullpen all year and with room for one more left hander in this bullpen, I project Hudson to be in line to get that spot.

Will the Brewers face Arizona? New York again? Atlanta? We'll find out following the double-header here on Monday and the roster decisions are due Tuesday morning.