Three relievers who could emerge as the Brewers' main set-up man

Over the past several seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have done a remarkable job of having a “next man up” mentality in their bullpen. The group barely skipped a beat with the departure of Josh Hader, and when Devin Williams missed the first half of last season, they were able to find unexpected sources of quality innings.

So far in 2025, things have been a little rough. The normally dependable Joel Payamps has an ERA over 19, Jared Koenig has been iffier than usual, and Bryan Hudson has looked more like the version of himself that struggled toward the end of last season than the one who dominated before the All-Star break.

If we assume that Trevor Megill stays in the closer role—which is not a given, as he’s been a bit shaky and, according to Adam McCalvy, has an issue with his knee—who is likely to emerge as the team’s primary set-up man, the role that Megill served to Williams last season? Here are three players who might step up.

Abner Uribe

Uribe has always had an enticing arm. He heavily features a heavy sinker that averages 98.5 mph, and he plays a slider off of that. That velocity has led to control problems—Uribe has averaged an ugly 6.8 walks per nine innings in his minor league career. But he’s also proven difficult to hit, and he closed games in the minors in 2023 and had a shot at winning the closer job in Milwaukee in 2024. But the season went off the rails quickly, and Uribe got suspended, demoted, then injured.

Back with the big-league club this year, Uribe has arguably been the team’s most effective reliever so far. Small sample alerts abound, but through seven appearances, he has allowed just one earned run, he’s struck out eight (in 7 2/3 innings), and crucially, he’s only walked three batters, giving him an entirely acceptable 3.5 walks per nine. He’s got the stuff to be a high-leverage reliever; for him, it’s just a matter of keeping the walks under control and keeping a cool head.

Nick Mears

Acquired at last season’s trade deadline, the Brewers traded for Nick Mears not because of what he was but because of what they felt he could be. Mears had encouraging underlying numbers with the Rockies in 2024, but the results weren’t there; he had a FIP that was nearly three runs better than his ERA, and he was striking out a healthy 11.7 batters per nine innings. He also suffered from a very high .366 batting average on balls in play, suggesting bad luck.

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn around after he got to Milwaukee: everything started leaving the yard, and Mears gave up five home runs in just 12 1/3 innings after the trade. There’s a but here, though: Pat Murphy went to Mears twice during the Wildcard round against the New York Mets, and he looked great, with three strikeouts, no walks, and no hits allowed in 2 1/3 innings. That strong finish has bled into this season, in which Mears has four strikeouts and no hits or walks allowed in 3 2/3 innings.

Could this be the year that the results catch up to the underlying numbers? It would be a huge boost to the bullpen if that’s the case.

Craig Yoho

The last option here is someone who hasn’t seen any major league action yet, but it’s impossible not to discuss Craig Yoho when thinking about bullpen options for the Brewers in 2025. Most readers will know at this point, but Yoho utterly dominated three levels of the minor leagues in 2024, finishing with a 0.94 ERA and 15.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 57 2/3 innings across High A, Double A, and Triple A. Then he showed up to spring training this year and looked just as good against big-league hitters. At Triple-A Nashville to start the season, he hasn’t allowed an earned run in 7 1/3 innings.

Yoho’s story is a strange one; he was a collegiate position player who had a series of injuries that basically kept him out for years, and then he came back as a pitcher in 2023, when he was 23 years old, and sort of figured it out on the fly. Now, he throws a wicked changeup that draws comparisons to Devin Williams’ “airbender,” and no one can hit him.

Between the level of success he had in the minors in 2024 and his comfort level during spring training, it feels like a Yoho promotion could happen any day. His changeup is unique enough that  it could really set him apart, even in the majors, and it’s possible that Yoho isn’t just the Brewers’ next set-up man, but he could be their next great closer.