Predicting the 2024 Milwaukee Brewers 26-man Opening Day roster

Earlier today, Milwaukee Brewers pitchers and catchers officially reported to the team's spring training complex in Arizona. And with that, the 2023-24 offseason officially came to a close.

Despite the dead periods at the beginning of the offseason, the Brewers finally ended up making moves. Some of those moves added firepower to an offense that was in need of it, while another guaranteed a new Opening Day starting pitcher for the first time since 2021.

There is still well over a month before the 2024 regular season kicks off, but it's never too early to start asking questions about what the Opening Day roster against the Mets will end up looking like. Where do the new guys slot in? What will the new look rotation end up being? Let's try to predict some answers to those questions.

Here is the first prediction of the 2024 Milwaukee Brewers 26-man Opening Day roster.

Catchers - William Contreras, Eric Haase, Gary Sanchez

Carrying three catchers would go against the norm for the Brewers, who have generally carried just two backstops at a time in recent seasons. But as Milwaukee looks for an extra infusion of offense in 2024, there's a reason they might go with a trio, at least to start the season.

Contreras, arguably the offensive MVP for the Crew in 2023, will obviously be the leader of the group. Behind him, the Brewers signed Eric Haase hoping to see him regain his 2021-22 form (36 homers, 105 RBIs combined) and agreed to a deal with Gary Sanchez banking on his regular run production (173 career homers).

Should both players make the Opening Day roster, it would likely be with Haase as the backup catcher and Sanchez at DH, giving the Brewers some flexibility with the group. However, while Sanchez should be a lock to make the roster with his reported $7MM contract, if Haase doesn't perform well enough in the spring, he and his $1MM contract could be expendable, bringing the Crew back to two catchers.

Outfielders - Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell

In 2024, Milwaukee Brewers fans will finally get to see the young group of talented outfielders that have been working their way up the system all get to the majors together. Of course, they will be joining a staple of the Crew's outfield since 2018.

Former NL MVP Christian Yelich returns to the Brewers outfield for the seventh consecutive season. After a few down seasons following a season-ending injury in 2019, Yeli started to look more like himself again. The only question is whether he'll lead off again in 2024 or return to his familiar No. 3 spot from earlier in his career.

One of the most anticipated debuts in franchise history will be that of 21-year-old phenom Jackson Chourio. The top Brewers prospect and a top two prospect in all of baseball signed a monster eight-year contract this offseason, and though he technically isn't guaranteed an Opening Day spot, his history sure makes it seem like he will earn himself one.

The two most likely players to join them are a pair of former first round picks, Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick. Both played just portions of 2023 for injury related reasons but showed flashes of what they can provide the team in the future. They are also both gifted defenders, a quality that will be very important for the Brewers this season after hits to the starting rotation.

This would leave outfielders Joey Wiemer and Blake Perkins as odd men out. Both will factor into the equation at some point this season, but don't be surprised if one manages to make the Opening Day roster if players like Haase or Bauers don't make it to the regular season themselves.

Starting Pitchers - Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Jacob Junis, Colin Rea, DL Hall

One of the staples of recent Milwaukee Brewers teams has been a recognizable starting pitching rotation anchoring the squad. After offseason turnover that saw the 1-2 punch in Corbin Burnes (trade) and Brandon Woodruff (non-tender) move on from the Crew, there was a ton of uncertainty around what the rotation would look like for the first time in a long time. Now, things appear to be taking shape once again.

The team's new ace will be 27-year-old Freddy Peralta. The 2021 All-Star shined toward the end of last season and is now the face of the rotation. Following him in the No. 2 spot should be the ageless Wade Miley who even in his age 36 season was able to go 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 2023.

Two other spots in the rotation should be assigned to right-handers Colin Rea and Jakob Junis. Bringing back Rea, who filled in admirably at times last season, in free agency was one of the first priorities for the Brewers early in the offseason so it would be surprising if he didn't start. The same goes for Junis because even though he pitched a good amount of relief in 2023, it's hard to believe he'll be earning a base salary of $4MM to not start.

After those four, the final rotation spot is up for grabs with a few different players having a potential spot. For now, we're going with DL Hall, who was acquired in the Burnes trade. The Brewers would probably love to see part of their return for their former ace end up in the rotation himself and he'll have every chance to earn the spot. He'll have to fend off fellow pitchers Joe Ross and Aaron Ashby, among others, to do so, though.

Relief Pitchers - Devin Williams, Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps, Elvis Peguero, Bryse Wilson, Trevor Megill, Hoby Milner, Joe Ross

Many of the moves the Brewers made this offseason were to add depth to the team's bullpen. And yet, a majority of it is set up to look extremely similar to how it looked for most of last season, especially in the second half.

Anchoring the pen is two-time All-Star and reigning NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams. After shining in his first year as the Brewers' closer, he was rewarded with a contract that bought out his 2024 arbitration year with an option to do the same in 2025.

Behind him is a trio of pitchers in Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps, and Elvis Peguero. All three played integral parts in the success of the back end of Milwaukee's bullpen. With another year under their belts, batters could have even worse nightmares facing the group in 2024.

But that wasn't where the bullpen's success ended in 2023. Both Bryse Wilson and Hoby Milner had excellent seasons in their own rights as they garnered plenty of appearances for the Brewers while Megill was very good late in the season and could have an expanded role this season.

That leaves just one spot remaining in the bullpen in this scenario. Due to his lack of minor league options, we'll give the edge to Ross, who could still also end up in the rotation instead. But between that uncertain situation and the reality of injuries and poor performance, the look of the bullpen will evolve plenty over the course of the season as usual.

The best part of spring training (besides finally getting to watch baseball again) is getting to see all of these position battles play out. Though this is the roster projection for now, who knows what could happen between now and the start of the season to make things change.