Aaron Ashby, Back in a High-Leverage Long Relief Role, Can Boost Brewers' Bullpen

When the Brewers activated Aaron Ashby from the injured list in late May, Pat Murphy said the club planned to use him and DL Hall as “leverage long relievers.” The pair could alternate pitching multiple innings in meaningful situations, sometimes as a bridge between a short start and the back end of the bullpen, and other times to fill in for some of those late-inning arms to ease their workloads.

In Ashby’s six weeks on the roster, such outings have been few and far between—sometimes due to game circumstances, and other times due to Murphy’s apparent hesitancy to trust him in bigger spots. He was finally back in that high-leverage, multi-inning role against the Miami Marlins on Friday night, and the southpaw was pivotal in a 6-5 win.

With Quinn Priester unable to complete the fifth inning, Murphy summoned Ashby with two outs and the go-ahead run on second base. He struck out Connor Norby to end the threat and worked through the seventh inning, striking out three in 2 1/3 perfect innings. Meanwhile, the Brewers scraped across a run in the top of the eighth to take the lead, positioning Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill to finish things off.

The outing showcased how pivotal Ashby can be in that unique role and why more opportunities in similar situations should follow. The left-hander has been dominant as a multi-inning reliever, both this year and dating back to his final call-up last season. After Friday’s showing, Ashby now owns a 0.93 ERA and 2.42 FIP in 19 ⅓ innings this year. Since August 25, 2024, he’s pitched to a 1.15 ERA and 1.59 FIP with a 29.1% K-BB% in 39 innings. Sixteen of his 23 appearances have spanned more than three outs.

Beyond setting up the eventual win by keeping the score tied, his multi-inning effort also allowed Murphy to avoid using Nick Mears for a third straight day and Jared Koenig for the second time in three days. They would pitch unsuccessfully the following afternoon behind Hall, who worked two perfect innings in a similar multi-inning role and arguably could have pitched another in what was then a tie game.

Properly pacing Mears, Koenig, and Uribe will be crucial in a heavily-worked bullpen that ranks fourth in baseball in innings pitched. With a rotation of starters best limited to two turns through the order in most outings, Murphy will continue to lean heavily on his relief corps in the second half. Ashby ought to be a cog in keeping that group effective, pitching in precisely the role he filled on Friday night.