long ball

Who knows if he will stick on the roster all year, but it does make some sense to add a guy who can soak up multiple innings in a mop up role here early in the season while guys like Gasser and Henderson stay stretched out. if he flops it’s no big deal to Dfa him. Hunt is a decent prospect, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay for a guy who could help the big league roster now. I like McGee more than many fans, but no harm in him starting in AAA.

Schedule looks a little soft to get it started. Sure we usually are working out the kinks in the roster, but I think we get off to a hot start. 20-10.

this is the inly update I saw on him all spring

Record: 94 wins Playoffs: win division, lose DS Team MVP: Turang Team CY: Misiorowski, I think he separates himself from the other inexperienced starters we have on the staff Team ROY: Sproat Surprise: Rengifo, I don’t expect him to be an allstar or anything but I think he holds down the primary job at third all year with 400+ PA with a 110 OPS+ Disappointment: Frelick, nothing horrible, just single digit homers and an OPS+ in the 90s.

I’m surprised that they decided to option Perkins. I think there’s a very strong case for Lockridge being a better roster fit right now, but I was leaning on what Murphy has said in the past about Perkins and just that Perkins has been on the team and Lockridge is the new guy. Kinda felt like Perkins had the seniority to break camp with the team. perkins will play plenty of baseball for the brewers this year, but I do feel a little bad he won’t get the symbolic note of being on the opening day roster.

Could be. Adding a pitcher to the 40 man and DFAing Berroa makes some sense. Feels like they’d get better use out of one more pitcher on the roster rather than an 8th outfielder.

What the heck is a rhomboid? Anyway… that’s what depth is for. It actually sorta makes the roster work a little better to be able to start with Zastryzny on the IL and then activate him once there’s a need faith a different lefty inevitability inured or ineffective. My guess is Easton McGee is the cleanest fit to take that final pen spot since he’s right handed. Other right handed options are Coleman Crow and either Sproat or Henderson if either does not make the rotation to start the year.

This is the same 26 man opening day roster that I would predict. I know Matt Trueblood just posted the piece on Lockridge over Perkins, but I’m not ready to buy into it yet. I know if we are arguing over the 4th OF or the 8th reliever then the roster is in good shape. Luckily pretty much all of the fringe guys have options other than Zastryzny so we don’t have to make hard decisions. Regardless of whether it’s Perk or Lockridge. Or Hall or McGee. Or Sproat or Henderson. They’re all going to be in the org for when there is a need.

1b- Fischer 2b- Peña 3b- Made ss- Pratt (I’d actually cheat and assume Turang will still be our starting 2b on opening day 2028. So remove Peña from 2b, insert Turang, the rest is the same) I think Made can stick at short and Fischer could stick at 3rd, but their eventual position will depend on roster construction and which of these prospects carve out everyday roles in the bigs I think Williams and Peña could both end up as infielders or outfielders I’d suspect Williams has carved out a role well before opening day 2028. Peña might be ready for a regular role by 2028 opening day. wilken feels like a solid corner infielder bench piece. Opposite side of the platoon from Yelich and Fischer. Can fill in at third as well too. im not an expert on the prospects, but Burke and Adams feel like second division starter ceilings.

I don’t love the sound of that!

I have a tough time seeing the Brewers option Harrison and Perkins in favor of Henderson and Lockridge. i dont necessarily disagree with it in a vacuum, but given Perkins and Harrison have considerable big league service time at this point, they’d be on “my” opening day roster. (obligatory caveat of the opening day roster doesnt matter and all of these guys will see a lot of big league time in 2026)

Wild he’s already been retired so long. I also didn’t know he lived in mequon. I lived there as a kid.

It is kinda crazy to look back at the opening day roster last year and realize how many of those guys were a bit of a surprise to make the opening day roster. Bauers was on a minor league deal. Patrick was a surprise. Isaac Collins was a surprise. Thomas was a rule 5 guy. Then there were a host of guys we knew would make the roster, but ended up playing minimal roles on the team. Cortes, Civale, Rodriguez, Alexander, Hudson, Peguero, payamps, Capra, Dunn, and Mitchell. Hopefully we make it through the wbc/spring training healthy. The only surprises I can envision right now would be from injuries. the only pitchers on the 40 man who I’d be surprised to see on the opening day roster would be Peralta, crow, Drohan, or Rodriguez. Even guys like McGee and Yoho are intriguing enough that it would only take 1 bullpen injury for them to get the nod. McGwire (C) , Eddys Leonard (INF), Black (1B) and Lockridge (OF) are probably the first men up in case of spring training injuries.

Adamczewski is probably the lowest ranked position player prospect that I personally see as a pretty good bet to be an average or better big league starter (~2 WAR). Obviously the LF positional adjustment for WAR will mean he will have to hit a ton Lara has a nice floor of a premium 4th outfielder even if he doesn’t hit much. the group of Wilken, Burke, and Adams is interesting to have them all stacked together too. I don’t think all of them will turn into big league contributors for us, but I think there’s a pretty good chance at least one of them does.

I think the picture at third base, CF, and the bench is clearer than that rotation competition. The rotation competition is certainly fascinating with many good options. I know the depth in the rotation is very important and having so many optionable arms there is by design. I also wouldn’t want to be the manager who has to tell Gasser or Sproat or Henderson that they’re going to AAA to start the year, but I’d rather have 5 good healthy starters in AAA than run into a rash of injuries or slow ramp ups during camp.

Fans on social media/message boards complain about the Yelich contract and how it’s holding us back… You know the guy who makes about the same as Ian Happ. I can’t imagine what they’d say in the final few years of those deals you cited.

I voted for a C. kept woodruff which was a surprise. That’s probably the most positive move. the trades were more about long term roster building than they were about competing in 2026. So there are some long term positives but also some short term losses, especially with trading Freddy. coaching staff shake ups are hard to judge, but hopefully we see a bounce back for stolen bases with this group. Sammy Peralta adds an optionable bullpen shuttle guy. He’s probably further down the shuttle depth chart though. Akil Baddoo doesnt so much for me, but I understand it. gary Sánchez is a good low risk back up catcher addition that I like. Rengifo was basically necessitated by the Durbin trade. I do think he’s a slight downgrade from Durbin, but in conjunction with the Durbin trade I think it’s a net positive. im not sure what kind of roll any of the minor league signings may end up with, but we’re likely to get some value from at least one of them in 2026 overall they operated like the Brewers usually do which isn’t going to be flashy. I do like this roster better than the 2025 roster was at the end of spring last year. it is disappointing not to see them make a bigger improvement for the 2026 season coming off such a successful 2025 campaign. That’s why I’m only rating it a C.

I assume you’re adding him as a possible DFA candidate. He’s probably be next on my list too, but I like McGee. I thought he was pretty good at times. The tough thing about being the last guy in the bullpen and being added as the “fresh arm” is that he’d get abused at times. When he was only asked to go one inning he was pretty good. When they made him soak up multiple innings it didn’t go as well. I do appreciate that being a single inning guy in a shuttle/low leverage role makes you less useful. Your main job in that role is to eat innings to give the main guys a day off. I think he survives the year in the org.

I think Wallus has the right group here and loosely defined roles seem right too. to add to the Zastryzny discussion… Andrew Chafin only got a minor league deal this off season even though he had a relatively strong year in 2025. Chafin has a better track record of health and performance so I’m not sure he’d garner much trade interest even as teams deal with the attrition of spring training. What I personally see as most likely is that he will make the opening day roster if healthy. But he hasn’t stayed healthy much over his career. If he’s ineffective he’s a Dfa candidate since he’s on a minimum deal and has no options. I probably like Zastryzny more than most, but this is the life of a non-leverage reliever who is out of options. the shuttle squad basically comprises of everyone left on the 40 man roster who isn’t on the active roster. Regardless of whether they’re pitching as a starter or reliever in AAA. The quality of the arms on the 40 man right now is really good. Aside from Zastryzny, I really only see Sammy Peralta and Carlos Rodriguez as possible DFA candidates if they need space at some point this year. I think the rest are big leaguers or have high enough upside to stick around.

I think you guys all have the right guys and general order in place. We all know that this will change over the course of the year, but it’s fun to talk about so I’ll bite. Turang Chourio Yelich Contreras Frelick Vaughn Mitchell Rengifo Ortiz (I do think we will see a fair bit of Bauers in LF and Chourio in CF if Mitchell gets hurt, but I don’t think that changes the batting order construction in any meaningful way.)

Wallus, I agree with your top 5. im going to rank it in tiers to add a little more context locks: while healthy, these guys are in the rotation. woodruff (and he’s your opening day starter if he is heakthy coming out of camp) priester Misiorowski Leg up on the rest: Harrison- pedigree, amount of big league experience, and left handed. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start the year on the roster and in the rotation. patrick- based on what he did last year and his age, I think he starts in the rotation. Even though it’s tempting to let him air it out as a high leverage reliever. next group up: I think these guys are big league starters now, but due to depth they’re probably starting in AAA as starters assuming health. I haven’t ordered these guys since it might depend on team need. I predicted in the “bold predictions” thread that 8 guys get at least 10 starts and these guys are in that group. Sproat Gasser Henderson stretched out, but they’re relievers; Murphy already kinda alluded to this, but I think these guys stretch out to a few innings but are ticketed for the Pen. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hall and maybe others get the 1-3 inning “opener” starts from time to time: Ashby Hall Zerpa Drohan Deep depth/emergency starter: Crow Rodriguez- probably just an emergency spot starter at this point or emergency bullpen bulk guy. there are probably a few guys not on the 40 man who warrant inclusion too, but I’ll start with just these guys for now.

I’m pleasantly surprised. I was expecting Eddys Leonard and Hamilton to wind up as the 3b platoon to start the year. he’s nothing special, but it at least takes away some of the risk we took on by trading Durbin. im satisfied.

8 pitchers get at least 10 starts. Another 2 get at least 5 starts.

Brewers seem to have a “type” for their back up catcher behind Contreras. Decent enough defense with above average power. it’ll work for the 150-200 PA he gets.

I expect everyone on the 40 man to pitch important innings next year. Hall, Ashby, and Zastryzny have all dealt with injuries the last few years. I expect Drohan is likely going to stretch out in spring, but factor more into the bullpen shuttle.