A first pass at Brewers' potential Opening Day roster

MILWAUKEE – Every year MLB.com attempts to predict the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, and every year the Brewers throw more curveballs than Ben Sheets in his prime.

Like they did on Monday, trading a trio of infielders to the Red Sox and scrambling our prediction on the morning it was scheduled to be published. So, with the expectation that more spring signings or trades can (and probably will) change things, and the knowledge that injuries happen, here’s our latest effort at playing armchair GM as Matt Arnold, Pat Murphy and their lieutenants ponder an Opening Day roster. Remember, the limit is 26 players and a maximum of 13 pitchers.

Catcher (1): William Contreras
Contreras has been behind the plate for 259 of a possible 335 regular-season and postseason games over the past two years, with a fractured left middle finger for most of them. The biggest question is who will back him up. Is it time for top catching prospect Jeferson Quero to learn on the job? Or did the Brewers add Reese McGuire as a non-roster invitee to be the big league backup?

First baseman (1): Andrew Vaughn
Vaughn’s power tailed off late in the season, but the Brewers invested $7.65 million to bring him back in a right/left tandem with Jake Bauers.

Second baseman (1): Brice Turang
Turang’s OPS in his first three Major League seasons: .585 in 2023, .665 in '24, .794 in '25. The next step in his ascent is playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Shortstop (1): Joey Ortiz
Since the 2024 All-Star break, Ortiz’s .609 OPS ranks 228th of MLB’s 232 hitters with at least 500 plate appearances. But the Brewers are sticking with him because he plays great defense and they believe there’s more in there offensively.

Third baseman (1): David Hamilton
Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler all played third for the Brewers last season but are heading to Boston, leaving Milwaukee wide open at the position eight days before the first full-squad workout. Hamilton, a left-handed-hitting speedster, has mostly played second base and shortstop but will get a long look at the hot corner in Spring Training, where Brewers officials believe his skills will translate. If that doesn’t work, they could try Jett Williams, the infielder acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta deal. Or they could move around some in-house pieces, including Ortiz, who played third in 2024. Or they could sign a free agent or make another trade. It’s all under discussion.

Outfielders (4): Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins
There’s a lot of depth when you include a handful of outfield starts for Christian Yelich and Jake Bauers, and the presence of Brandon Lockridge and Akil Baddoo. Health will be especially important for Mitchell (left shoulder), Chourio (right hamstring) and Frelick (left knee) after they dealt with injuries last year.

Designated hitter (1): Christian Yelich
Of his 146 starts in the 2025 regular season, 128 were as the DH. It kept him healthy and productive to the tune of 29 homers and a .795 OPS.

Bench/Utility (3): Jake Bauers, Reese McGuire, Jett Williams
Unless the Brewers plan to push infield prospect Cooper Pratt all the way to the big leagues, this looks like a big opportunity for Williams. With Monasterio and Seigler headed to Boston, Williams is the only infielder on the 40-man roster besides Ortiz and Turang who can play shortstop.

Starting pitchers (5): Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Kyle Harrison
In contrast to the few questions on the position player side, the Brewers have so many questions to answer about their pitching. Can Woodruff be an ace again? Can Misiorowski parlay his electric October in the bullpen into a steady full season as a starter? Will Patrick, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall start or relieve? And which of Milwaukee’s other developing arms will open the year in the rotation? The options are plentiful, including holdovers Logan Henderson (Milwaukee's 2025 No. 7 prospect) and Robert Gasser (Brewers' 2025 No. 20 prospect), and offseason pickups Brandon Sproat (MLB Pipeline's No. 100 overall prospect), Harrison and Shane Drohan.

Depth will be key, so other arms like Carlos Rodriguez, Coleman Crow (Brewers' 2025 No. 27 prospect) and non-roster invitee Tate Kuehner (an under-the-radar prospect you should know) are very much in the mix here.

Relief pitchers (8): Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, Angel Zerpa, Grant Anderson, Rob Zastryzny, DL Hall
“Rob Z.” is the only bullpen candidate who is out of options, so there are countless ways this could go. The first six spots seem pretty locked in, barring an injury or trade – Megill has been a target of a number of clubs with two years of control remaining. If you keep Zastryzny in the interest of maximizing organizational depth, that makes seven, including four left-handers. The Brewers would almost certainly need another righty, wouldn’t they?

Still, this initial projection goes with Hall for that final spot as a multi-inning pitcher who can face hitters from both sides. Other candidates are lefty Sammy Peralta and righty Easton McGee, who flashed good stuff aside from one poor outing in Washington in August. Craig Yoho (Milwaukee's 2025 No. 18 prospect) is another right-handed relief option, but his MLB debut last year was rocky. The Brewers have hung onto J.B. Bukauskas through his many injuries, but he’s not even in big league camp. And remember, they could go with a starter like Henderson or even Patrick in the bullpen to start the season. Patrick was absolutely electric out of the ‘pen in the playoffs.

Bottom line: There are a ton of decisions to make on the pitching side.