Should the Brewers be worried about the current make-up of their 2026 bullpen?

The Milwaukee Brewers could certainly enter the 2026 season with their roster as it currently stands. Other than the departures of a few veteran free agents and a trade of Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals for left-hander Ángel Zerpa, the roster that won an MLB-best 97 games last year essentially remains intact. However, that doesn't mean Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office aren't searching for ways to improve the roster or alter it in ways that will lead to success in 2026.

Outside of the aforementioned acquisition of Zerpa, the Brewers' bullpen has seen very little turnover this winter. It's a testament to the forward-thinking approach that Arnold and his team have adopted in recent seasons. However, it's certainly possible that the group sees one or two shake-ups before the 2026 season commences.

Trevor Megill’s name was brought up in trade discussions earlier this offseason, but those rumors have quieted in recent weeks. Even still, with the talented Abner Uribe waiting in the wings, it's fair to wonder whether a trade of Megill, who has two years of control remaining and is coming off of an All-Star 2026 campaign, would be prudent this offseason. However, such a move would exacerbate a potentially harmless, but certainly abnormal phenomenon that is currently present in the Brewers' bullpen.

Milwaukee's projected 2026 bullpen group includes five southpaws and just three-right handers

As things currently stand, and assuming an Opening Day starting rotation of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, and either Logan Henderson or Chad Patrick, Milwaukee's projected bullpen at the beginning of the 2026 season skews severely left-handed. Assuming the Brewers carry eight relievers to start the 2026 campaign, it's likely their bullpen group looks something like this:

Milwaukee Brewers' projected 2026 Opening Day bullpen:

1. Trevor Megill RHP
2. Abner Uribe RHP
3. Grant Anderson RHP
4. Aaron Ashby LHP
5. Jared Koenig LHP
6. Ángel Zerpa LHP
7. DL Hall LHP
8. Rob Zastryzny LHP

Ashby, Zerpa, and Hall are all likely to be stretched out into starting pitchers in Spring Training, but with the Brewers having a plethora of starting options, including the six names listed above plus Tobias Myers, Robert Gasser, and Carlos Rodriguez, all three left-handers might be awarded roles in the bullpen simply because the rotation spots don't exist.

The result is a left-handed dominated bullpen which is rare in today's game; MLB teams are generally struggling to find enough left-handed relievers rather than dealing with a situation where they have a surplus of them. Paired with Milwaukee's righty-only starting rotation, it may not be much of an issue at all, but it could spell trouble for Pat Murphy and the Brewers' coaching staff as they try to optimize match-ups late in games next year. A situation where Megill and Uribe are unavailable because they pitched the night prior and the Brewers are facing a right-handed dominated lineup that mashes left-handers is not difficult to fathom.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that all five of the lefties listed above were more effective against left-handed hitters than righties in 2025. And if the Brewers do want to go for a more balanced bullpen of righties and lefties, their other right-handed options on their 40-man roster are Craig Yoho and Easton McGee -- two very talented pitchers with plenty of upside, but not much big-league experience.

However, there are certainly arguments against the Brewers needing to make an external addition to balance out the handedness of their relief corps in 2026. The first of which is the presence of Chad Patrick. The 27-year-old Patrick burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign last year, filling in for a banged-up Brewers rotation at the beginning of the season. However, when the playoffs rolled around, Patrick assumed a role in the bullpen and was brilliant in the shorter outings that he provided. His fastball was up a few ticks, and his arsenal, which lacks a strong secondary offering to his three fastball shapes, was more effective when facing an order just one time through at the most. Though Patrick is listed among the starting pitching options above, and will certainly build up as one this spring, he's an candidate to transition into a relief role in 2026.

The other argument as to why the Brewers could simply stand pat when it comes to their relief group is the flexibility that they hold in the pitching staff as a whole. Outside of Peralta, Woodruff, and Zastryzny, every pitcher on the Brewers' 40-man roster has minor league options remaining, meaning they can be sent to Triple-A at any moment without having to clear waivers. At any point in time, if the Brewers feel that their bullpen group is too "lefty-heavy," they can simply recall one of their talented right-handed arms in Triple-A to replace them in the big-league 'pen.

In the end, the Brewers could certainly use another right-hander in their bullpen before the 2026 season arrives, especially if they elect to trade Megill, which is looking increasingly unlikely. However, with the flexibility the pitching staff holds and the right-handed dominance of the presumed starting staff, such a move is not entirely necessary. Even still, keep an eye out for a potential bullpen acquisition for the Brewers in the coming weeks.