This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MILWAUKEE -- If you’re one of those folks looking at the Brewers’ depth chart in the wake of the Freddy Peralta trade and wondering what it would look like with some additional veteran starting pitching, you’ve got company. The two-time defending National League Manager of the Year Award winner sees the same thing.
“I think every team is mindful of their rotation, just because of the volatility of pitching injuries and the trends in baseball of how many pitchers are needed in a season,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “So I think that’s always a concern. Probably the No. 1 concern.
“I think we’ll probably have to shore that up.”
He had the same concern last season while lobbying the front office to add free agent veteran Jose Quintana in March. That move worked out rather well, with Quintana delivering a 3.96 ERA over 131 2/3 regular-season innings as one of 17 pitchers to start a game for the 2025 Brewers, matching the franchise record. Yet Milwaukee starters collectively ranked third in the Majors with a 3.56 ERA.
Now 37, Quintana is a free agent again, so he’s one option should the Brewers add a veteran arm. But he’s not the only option who could be had on a short-term contract to augment a rotation that took a pair of hits last week when Milwaukee traded the steady Peralta -- coming off three consecutive seasons of 30-plus starts but heading into a contract year -- along with swingman Tobias Myers, to the Mets for a pair of prospects, including Major League-ready right-hander Brandon Sproat.
Sproat will compete for a spot in the Brewers' rotation along with a slew of other young arms at a similar juncture in their careers. Of Milwaukee’s starting pitching options, only Brandon Woodruff has more than two years of Major League service time, and he’ll go into 2026 with some guardrails considering he was limited to 12 starts last year coming off shoulder surgery. Behind Woodruff, the Brewers have emerging Quinn Priester coming off a breakthrough year, then a bunch of young arms including Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson, Carlos Rodriguez, Coleman Crow and Sproat.
Left-handers Aaron Ashby and DL Hall each have history as starters, but suffered injuries last spring while ramping up to compete for the rotation. If he had his choice, Murphy prefers Ashby in the bullpen, where he’s had stints as an electric, multi-inning, high-leverage relief arm.
“They’re both capable,” Murphy said. “Now with trading Freddy and Tobias, I think there might be more of a need for at least one of them to step in that role. Ashby has kind of separated himself, and he’s done a great job in that relief role. He can handle that and he’s really resilient.”
Ashby and Hall are among the many multi-inning bullpen options available to the Brewers, who have a long history of blurring the lines between “starter” and “reliever.” That strategy is likely to continue into 2026 whether the front office adds a starter or not, and remember, it’s never too late to add.
The Brewers hope for 25-30 starts and 150-plus innings from Woodruff, Murphy said. Presumably, the Brewers will devise a plan that builds in the rest necessary to keep Woodruff healthy through the end of the year as Milwaukee seeks to extend a stretch of seven postseason appearances in the past eight seasons.
“He’s very, very capable,” Murphy said. “He’s mature. He’s been through it. He’s educated. I mean, this guy understands pitching. He might need a reset here and there, but he knows where his mind is at. His mind can handle that. That’s the most important thing, that he’s been through so much.”
Was Murphy surprised that Woodruff accepted a qualifying offer to return to the Brewers on a one-year deal?
“I was elated,” Murphy said. “I think he feels a connection to Milwaukee.”
Speaking of connection, Spring Training will also be a time for Murphy’s reconfigured coaching staff to find their lanes. The group includes several new coaches (hitting coaches Guillermo Martinez and Daniel Vogelbach) and others who either changed roles on the Major League staff or were promoted from the Minor Leagues (offense and strategy coordinator Jason Lane, Major League pitching coordinator Jim Henderson, lead hitting coach Eric Theisen, assistant pitching coach Juan Sandoval, first-base coach Spencer Allen and third-base coach Matt Erickson among them).
What you won’t find on Murphy’s staff is a bench coach, after associate manager Rickie Weeks was shifted back to the front office after two seasons in the dugout. Rather, several coaches will collaborate to fill the duties traditionally ascribed to a bench coach, and Cactus League games offer the first opportunity to iron that out.
“I don’t believe that you look at a team’s result and you equate it to not making changes,” said Murphy, whose club led MLB last season with 97 wins, then beat the Cubs in the NLDS. “I’m always looking to tweak and put people in better positions. It’s about always trying to improve.”
There’s only one area Murphy says he isn’t concerned about as the start of Spring Training approaches: His own contract. It’s set to expire at the end of 2026, and at 67 years old, he wants to continue managing beyond that.
“I’m just going to keep that private,” Murphy said. “I think I’ve made it clear that this is a great fit for me. I can’t think of any other place that would be as good a fit as this.”