SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 15: Ryne Stanek #45 of the Seattle Mariners throws a pitch during the ninth inning V at T-Mobile Park on June 15, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Mariners won 5-7. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Can Internal Upgrades Really Replace Trade Deadline Acquisitions for Brewers?
The Brewers are in need of quality (as opposed to quantity) to reinforce their playoff-aspiring pitching staff. The good news is that they may have the talent internally to bolster their roster. Have they what they need to get by without a major addition?
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With the bullpen faltering of late and crying out for someone who can lock down the eighth and ninth innings, the Brewers may need an arm that works in high leverage. Hoby Milner has been snakebitten so far this season, while Joel Payamps and Elvis Peguero have proved unreliable and taken a step back from their 2023 performances. Even Trevor Megill and Bryan Hudson have shown signs of wear and tear in recent games. They also are in dire need of someone with the type of elite stuff that can start games and get several times through the order while not relying entirely on their defense. So where might these upgrades come from?
The Bullpen
With one of the most heavily-used bullpens in baseball, it’s no surprise that things have looked a little shakier in July than the lockdown versions in earlier months. The Brewers have incredible depth, but a lack of minor-league options among those players does hamper them slightly. Peguero is the only core piece who can be optioned, as of now. Peguero has seen a lot of action in the 8th inning of late, but has been as up-and-down as they come, with a propensity for ground balls and walks that can lead to some blow-up innings. Thankfully, the most obvious “upgrade” may be able to fix this.
Devin Williams is likely due back after another three to four relief outings, at most–perhaps by the middle of next week, if things go well in recovering from each appearance. The fastball was a tick down (with a little less extension and IVB than usual) in his latest rehab outing, but it’s not a massive difference. Hopefully, it will tick up again as he loosens and limbers. More importantly, the changeup was as good as ever, with that unique two-plane break, and he was commanding it to the edges of the strike zone well.
It won’t be long at all until Williams returns, which can push Megill to a setup role and (hopefully) solidify the closers (plural) spots a little. Megill has worked fewer innings than any other full-year reliever so far, and his stuff is still electric, meaning this recent stretch might just be a small blip. The Brewers may have that dominant closing pair that can reduce games to a seven-inning affair for the opposition again soon. Hopefully, that will allow more leverage to use the likes of Hudson more sparingly because of the limited workload on the Megill/Williams pairing thus far. Having that quality in even lower-leverage spots will be a real boost to the scrappy offense the Crew have this season.
The other option is very out-there, but brings a ton of excitement. Craig Yoho was the 8th-round selection out of Arkansas in 2023, and not many people realized just how electric his stuff was. With a screwball/changeup to rival Williams’s (accompanied by a boomerang sweeper and a sinker), Yoho has a variety of looping pitches that work in contrasting ways to tunnel together. He was aggressively promoted to Double-A Biloxi, and has shown himself almost too good for the level:
