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Coming into the offseason, it appeared as though the Brewers' young outfield crop would be thinned down in return for MLB-ready talent at positions of greater need. However, it seems the Brewers are content (for now) to let them compete for starting positions. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the bullpen, where they have far too many players who either cannot or will not be optioned to the minors. That presents a dilemma.
The New Men
The Brewers have always prized the ability to shuffle their relievers around, outside of their top two or three players, and have reinforced heavily without disposing of any arms. Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Joe Ross and Jakob Junis are four players competing for three (or maybe even two, if Robert Gasser breaks camp) starting pitching slots, shoving the remainders into the bullpen. Out of the three, it’s unlikely Ashby or Hall will be forced to the minors on account of their developmental potential (and Ashby's contract), while Junis and Ross signed major-league deals this offseason for $7 million and $1.75 million, respectively, which present a barrier to their release.
Matt Arnold and company also acquired Bryan Hudson from the Dodgers and Taylor Clarke from the Royals this winter. Both of them have options and the potential to be breakout reliever arms this year. Clarke has just one minor-league option remaining, and possesses two different sliders that generate significant swing-and-miss, along with a solid changeup that could excel away from the Royals' infamously poor pitching development system. Hudson is a lefty (something they desperately needed, aside from Hoby Milner), at 6-foot-8 with massive extension off the mound and a 56% ground ball rate. That should fit gorgeously with the Brewers defense this year. At least Hudson, if not both of these players, should see considerable time in the major leagues this season.
Pressure From the Farm
Adding to these new acquisitions/returnees are serious depth pieces in the Brewers farm system. Harold Chirino (14 innings, 0 earned runs, 22 strikeouts) was injured early last season, while Tobias Myers finally got his fastball to work for him to produce a 2.95 ERA in September with 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Both showed enough promise to get invites to spring training this season.
Hot on their heels will be Evan McKendry (in long relief) and James Meeker, neither of whom have high-octane "stuff," but both are efficient out-getters. That's not to mention the potential for the extremely talented arms of Jacob Misiorowski, Tanner Shears, and Shane Smith, who all had elite seasons last year and could force the Brewers' hand in the second half of the season. (Spencer Michaelis had a magnificent breakdown of them here).
The farm system is stacked with hurlers who have the ability to impact the major-league club, and no doubt by the halfway mark of the season, many of them will be fighting it out for spots on the roster.
The Optionless Incumbents
The Brewers' current bullpen, as at the end of last season, looks a little something like this:
Devin Williams - Won’t be optioned
Abner Uribe - Won’t be optioned unless he struggles, which is a possibility
Joel Payamps - Out of options
Hoby Milner - Out of options
Bryse Wilson - Out of options
Thyago Vieira - Out of options
JB Bukauskus - Out of options
Elvis Peguero - Two option years remaining, a possibility
Trevor Megill - One option year remaining
It’s quite possible that each of Uribe, Peguero and Megill continue their phenomenal 2023 success into the coming season, which would leave the Brewers in a pickle. Leaving aside the outside possibility of the club trading Williams and/or Payamps, Vieira’s nasty stuff and Bukauskas's elite ground ball rates might wind up with another team. Wilson could also be a fall guy, with his underlying metrics not quite standing up to the scrutiny of Jason Wang this week (see here). Peguero could be an attractive trade option if he didn't have options remaining, a valuable commodity right now in the Brewers system.
Interestingly, however, last year's initial bullpen group featured only Hoby Milner and Peter Strzelecki as optionable relievers, with Jake Cousins and Peguero stowed away in the minor leagues until needed. That resulted in losing out on Matt Bush, Cousins and Javy Guerra for virtually nothing, something that can be avoided this time around by a more proactive approach with significantly more talented personnel.
In short, I could make an argument for any of these optionless players to be moved, from Williams down to Bukauskus, depending on trade packages offered. The long and short of it, in the moment, is that there's a huge logjam in the bullpen, and a trade is imminent with at least one, and potentially three or four relievers. It might come on the eve of Opening Day, but as we've seen very recently, this front office is not especially predictable when it comes to the timing of moves. Thus, a deal could materialize as soon as this week.
Who would you like to see go? And what sort of trade packages do you envisage in the return? Let us know in the comments below.
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