Brewers Apparently Considering Major Pitching Change

Pat Murphy is not treating the Milwaukee Brewers’ first-place standing as a reason to stand still.

Even with the Brewers sitting atop the majors at 88-56, the manager has begun talking openly about a possible midseason shift for left-hander Kyle Harrison, a move that would take the 25-year-old out of the rotation and into the bullpen.

Murphy told reporters he plans to give the idea a hard look in the immediate future, via Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He floated the possibility that Harrison might no longer start and could instead appear in the middle of games.

The comments, first reported by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, arrived after a sloppy 12-8 loss to Cincinnati that handed the Reds the series.

Harrison has made 23 starts this season and has not yet appeared in relief. Across 110.2 innings, he owns a 3.66 ERA with 134 strikeouts and 33 walks. Those numbers are respectable for a fourth-year big-leaguer who has spent almost his entire career in the rotation, yet they have not been enough to convince Murphy that the current arrangement is optimal.

The manager has been unusually candid lately about the club’s remaining weaknesses; a change on the mound is one of the few levers still available as September tightens.

A transition of this kind is never simple. Harrison’s delivery and pitch mix were built for starting work, and the mental adjustment from preparing every fifth day to being ready on short notice can take time. Milwaukee, however, is playing for more than a division title.

FanGraphs currently gives the Brewers a 97.9 percent chance of winning the National League Central and an 11 percent chance of capturing the World Series. Those odds look strong, but they are not locked in. A late-season bullpen addition with Harrison’s stuff could help the club navigate the high-leverage innings that decide October.

The next test arrives quickly. Milwaukee opens a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field on September 7. How Harrison is used in that series, or whether he is used at all as a starter, will offer the first concrete clue about Murphy’s thinking.

For now, the manager has only signaled intent. No official announcement has been made, and Harrison remains listed among the starters. Still, the language Murphy chose was not casual. He spoke as if the decision was already close.

Brewers fans have enjoyed one of the more satisfying seasons in recent memory. A club that once seemed destined for another mid-pack finish now sits in the best position in baseball. That success has not blinded the front office or the dugout to unfinished business.

Small, timely adjustments remain part of the job at this level, and Murphy appears willing to make one of them with a pitcher who has shown both promise and inconsistency.

Whether the change actually happens, and whether it pays off, will be measured in the weeks that remain before the postseason begins.