Brewers' Vision for Elvin Rodriguez Coming Into Focus

When the Brewers inked Elvin Rodriguez to a split deal in January, it was unclear what role he would play on the 2025 pitching staff. He had an arsenal headlined by a couple of standout pitches that played best in relief, where he found success in Japan in 2024. Possibilities included stretching him out or using him as a strict reliever and simplifying his arsenal to his best pitches.

With spring training in full swing, we now have a partial answer. After his first preseason outing, Pat Murphy indicated to beat reporters that the Brewers view Rodriguez as a multi-inning reliever.

Rodriguez worked into a second inning in his follow-up outing on Monday night. That was also his first appearance of the year in a Statcast-equipped stadium, providing the first glimpse of his repertoire after some time with Milwaukee’s pitching development brass.

There’s been no downsizing. Rodriguez’s entire arsenal remains intact and appears more refined than in his last Stateside stint. Most notably, his breaking stuff is bigger. His curveball has a few more inches of depth, and his slider is a full-blown sweeper. He also showed an extra tick of velocity, averaging nearly 96 mph with his fastball and touching 97 multiple times.

Rodriguez focused on his fastball in his second spring appearance, but his secondaries should receive more time in subsequent outings. His cutter is arguably his least remarkable pitch, but it may be the one to watch most moving forward, especially after he has landed on an extremely horizontal slider. With a wide movement gap between his riding fastball and large breakers, Rodriguez needs a shorter offering to fill the chasm and tie his arsenal together.

Working multiple innings is important to Rodriguez's roster utility, and eventually, he might even start games at Triple A. Murphy didn't want to commit to that, but didn't rule it out, either.

"We’re gonna ramp him up a little bit, but how far, we'll see," he told reporters Saturday.

The Brewers’ abundance of bullpen depth will force them to use the minor-league options of capable relievers, so Rodriguez may not make the Opening Day roster regardless of how well he performs his camp. In any case, he’ll surface sooner than later, and it’s becoming clearer why the club believes he can make an impact.