A look at the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen for 2023

This article is part of a series looking at expectations for the Milwaukee Brewers position units in the 2023 season. Additional coverage is available on starting pitching, infielders, and outfielders.  

Over the past few seasons the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen has been a strength of the team. Unfortunately that  changed during the second half of last season. Josh Hader was traded to the San Diego Padres, new players were brought in, and the bullpen unit ended up costing the Brew Crew a lot of games down the stretch.

During the offseason, new general manager Matt Arnold retooled the bullpen by promoting internal prospects, selecting a pitcher in the Rule-5 Draft, claiming players off waivers and by adding through trade. In this article we will review which pitchers will likely get an early season opportunity in the bullpen and who might be an option later on.

As of the publication of this article, quite a few relief pitchers have been optioned down to the minor leagues or reassigned. The exact opening day bullpen is not known, but the pitchers listed as players who will make an impact early on in the season have not been moved out of Major League spring training camp.

Brewers bullpen pitchers who will make an impact early on in the season.

• Devin Williams, Matt Bush, Hoby Milner, Peter Strzelecki, Javy Guerra, Tyson Miller, Joel Payamps, Gus Varland, Bryse Wilson, Adrian Houser, Aaron Ashby

The anchor of the bullpen this year will be Devin Williams. He got opportunities to close games last year when Hader was away from the team due to personal reasons as well as after the trade. During these chances he shined and in 2023 he should set a career high in saves.

One big question is which player(s) will serve in the eighth inning set up role. Outside of Bush, none of the other pitchers listed have done that consistently at the Major League level. Peter Strzelecki, who broke out last season, is inline for an expanded role and could see high leverage looks early on.

As for the remainder of the pitchers, their performance will dictate their fate. Guerra, Payamps and Wilson are out of MiLB options. Varland, who was selected in the Rule-5 draft, has to remain on the 26-man roster all season. This leaves Miller as the only other “new guy” who could be shuttled to the minor leagues.

Lastly, there is Houser and Ashby. The opening day status of Houser is currently in question and Aaron Ashby for sure won’t be ready for Opening Day. Once they are ready, both will likely primarily serve in long relief roles.