The biggest question the Brewers must answer before the 2025 postseason

The Milwaukee Brewers only have 11 games left in the regular season as they currently sit at 92-59, first place in the NL Central by 5.0 games over the Chicago Cubs, and 1.5 games above the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League's top playoff seed. The Brewers clinched their playoff spot over the weekend after the New York Mets lost to the Texas Rangers, and put an exclamation point on their early clinch with a thrilling walk-off win over the St. Louis Cardinals on the same night.

With an 8.0 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for a first-round bye in the postseason, it's only a matter of time before the Brew Crew clinches one of the top two spots in the National League, which will offer them some breathing room when it comes to returning some of their injured players to their roster. Such a scenario would give the Brewers five days off between their final game of the regular season and their first postseason game. However, the question remains: is there enough time for the Brewers' best relievers to ramp up before October baseball?

What will the Brewers' bullpen look like in October?

The Brewers starting rotation looks pretty set for October, especially after José Quintana avoided a stint on the injured list after sustaining a minor calf injury on Sunday afternoon. The combination of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Quintana, and potentially Jacob Misiorowski should cover the starting duties in October.

Additionally, Milwaukee's position player group is back to full strength after Rhys Hoskins and Jackson Chourio returned to the roster following lengthy stints on the IL. Christian Yelich had a minor back flare-up earlier in the month, but he's clearly feeling better, as he slugged his 29th homer of the season last night.

The one group that still remains a question mark as the regular season comes to a close is the bullpen. Milwaukee has lost five key relievers to injuries since August 16: DL Hall, Shelby Miller, Grant Anderson, Nick Mears, and Trevor Megill. Miller, the Brewers’ main 2025 trade deadline acquisition, is unfortunately out for the year, but the rest of the group is expected to make full recoveries before the end of the regular season. Anderson is already back with the big league club, and Mears is expected to return either today or tomorrow. However, question marks still remain in regard to Megill and Hall's timelines.

According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, at this point, Hall is more likely to return before Megill, with the target being the final series of the regular season in which the Brewers will take on the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field. As McCalvy explains, while Megill should be healthy enough physically to pitch before the Crew's first postseason series, what will be more difficult is "finding ways to simulate competition before he’s potentially pitching the ninth inning of a one-run game in the postseason." Be sure to check out McCalvy's piece on MLB.com on the Brewers returning relievers, which is equipped with quotes from Megill and Hall themselves on how they view their returns.

Not only do questions about who will be in the Brewers postseason 'pen exist, but worries of reliever fatigue are also present. The Brewers' bullpen has covered 581.2 innings in 2025, fourth most in the National League. Abner Uribe and Grant Anderson have already set career highs for innings pitched this season, while Nick Mears and Jared Koenig are on pace to do so before the season's end. The five days off before the NLDS will be huge for reliever health, so long as the Brewers can ensure their "firemen" remain sharp.

With the starting pitching and position player groups seemingly set for October, the Brewers' must turn their attention to the bullpen, where several questions need to be answered before the team sets out on what is hopefully a lengthy playoff run.