We are just one week away from Opening Day of the 2026 season! The Milwaukee Brewers are wrapping up Cactus League play and have a lot of cut-down decisions still to make. Entering today, the Brewers still have 38 players in major league camp. They’ll have to get that number down to 26 by next Thursday.
How that initial 26 will look is still up for debate. Even so, the Brewers have reiterated many times over the years that the Opening Day roster is just for one day, and they can and often have made changes heading into the second game of the season.
Still, tough decisions are going to have to be made for the Brewers to make it down to 26. Here’s how things currently project for that first game against the White Sox next week.
Catchers (2): William Contreras, Gary Sánchez
There’s not much controversy here. William Contreras will be the starter once again for the Brewers and will play the vast majority of games with no desire to take a rest day. While there was some belief earlier in the offseason that the Brewers could roll with Jeferson Quero as backup catcher, once Gary Sánchez was signed, that put those beliefs to bed. Sánchez provides a veteran backup that also can easily be pushed aside once Quero is ready.
Infield (6): Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Luis Rengifo
Right before spring training, the Brewers made a surprising trade, sending out their entire third base depth chart to the Red Sox. The deal returned David Hamilton to the organization, and a few days later, the Crew signed Luis Rengifo to help cover third base. Prospects like Jett Williams, Brock Wilken, and Cooper Pratt aren’t quite ready yet for the MLB roster.
Tyler Black has made a push this spring, but the role he fits best is occupied by Jake Bauers, who has also had a strong spring.
Outfield (5): Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins, Sal Frelick, Christian Yelich
Little in the way of surprises here as well. Chourio, Frelick, and Yelich are all guaranteed locks. Mitchell and Perkins have remained healthy this spring, which makes them very strong favorites to handle center field duties once again.
The tough decision is Brandon Lockridge, who has overhauled his swing in the offseason and has had a tremendous spring training. He’s certainly pushing for a roster spot, but the problem is that there are only so many to go around. It’ll come down to Mitchell most likely, and whether or not he’s ready to go after shoulder surgery last year. He needs to get the at-bats and physically be able to handle the kind of workload they need. If he can do that, he’ll get the spot. If not, Lockridge will take it.
Starting rotation (5): Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Kyle Harrison, Robert Gasser
It seems to be tracking as if Brandon Woodruff will not need an IL stint to start the season. Whether or not Woodruff will start on Opening Day remains to be seen, but if his spring training start later today goes well, he certainly could get that call. Still, he’s in this rotation.
Murphy has already confirmed Misiorowski and Patrick are in this group as well. As for the final two spots, that’s been the battle all camp. It looks as if Kyle Harrison has the inside track for a spot after coming over in that Durbin trade. However, Harrison did just leave his outing on Wednesday with a blister, so that does throw a wrench into things. Still, as of now, I’m projecting Harrison to make the team and the rotation.
The final spot I have going to Robert Gasser. I think it’s between him and Brandon Sproat, but I give the edge to Gasser because he’s been in the organization a bit longer, and the Brewers aren’t looking to have him work on tweaks as they have been with Sproat. They might want to give some more time to Sproat to work on those changes. Plus, Gasser is scheduled to start Saturday’s game for the Brewers, while Sproat only has a few game outings this spring. This is the time of year the Brewers line up the guys they want, and with Gasser in there, I give the edge to him.
Bullpen (8): Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Ángel Zerpa, Grant Anderson, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Easton McGee
The bullpen picture looks a little different than we might have been expecting not long ago. Rob Zastryzny, who is out of minor league options, has a rhomboid strain and will be on the IL until mid-April, so that takes him out of this bullpen. His potential replacement, Craig Yoho, is dealing with a calf injury as well, so he is also out of the running.
Megill, Uribe, Koenig, Zerpa, Anderson, and Ashby are all locks for this roster. DL Hall likely can be considered one as well. That leaves just one spot remaining, and with the injuries that happened, McGee is sitting in a pretty good position to get that spot.
It’s just McGee and Sammy Peralta left in big league camp as true relievers for that last spot. Peralta is a lefty and McGee is a righty, so choosing McGee would give the Brewers four righties and a more balanced bullpen. There’s a chance that Sproat or Shane Drohan could end up taking that final bullpen spot as a long reliever type, but with Ashby and Hall already in this bullpen, there’s really no need for a third long reliever.
Injured List (4): Quinn Priester, Rob Zatryzny, Craig Yoho, Akil Baddoo
Quinn Priester is working through a wrist issue that has plagued him all spring. The aforementioned Zastryzny and Yoho came down with new injuries late in camp here, which are unfortunate. Akil Baddoo, who was still on the outside looking in for this outfield picture, has a quad strain that will keep him out for a couple of weeks, so he will also find himself on the IL to start the year.
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