The Brewers will head into their NLCS rematch with the Dodgers without a familiar left arm in the organization. On Thursday, seven-year veteran Rob Zastryzny elected free agency, a move reflected on his official MLB.com profile just three days before the series.
Zastryzny’s 2026 season never really got off the ground. He was sidelined early by a left rhomboid strain suffered while pitching for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, and his year kept veering off course from there. He was activated from the Injured List in May, but he never got into a big league game before going back on the shelf with a left trapezius strain.
Even without a major league appearance, Zastryzny showed plenty in Triple-A. Across 11 games for Nashville, he posted a 1.93 ERA and a 9-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 9 1/3 innings. He later finished a minor league rehab assignment in September, but instead of getting a call to Milwaukee, he was designated for assignment and outrighted to the minors.
That stood in contrast to what he gave the Brewers a year earlier. In 2025, the 34-year-old left-hander was a useful bullpen piece, making 26 appearances with a 2.47 ERA and a 20-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22 innings. Injuries also played a part in 2024, when he pitched in nine games and worked to a 1.17 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.
Zastryzny has spent seven seasons in the majors and has also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates. Over 80 big league appearances, he owns a 3.84 career ERA.
He turns 34 with a track record that should still interest teams looking for help on a minor league deal. The Brewers’ 2026 season didn’t give him a path to the majors, but his Triple-A results suggest he can still help a club if he stays healthy and gets another shot in spring training.
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Pat Murphy Made One Brewers Adjustment The Padres Never Matched
Pat Murphy spent the NLDS managing the series like a chess match, and the Brewers benefited from the way he handled his pitchers at Petco Park. Rather than asking his starters to grind through the Padres lineup a third time, he turned the game over early and kept the workload spread across a bullpen that had become one of Milwaukees biggest strengths.
The contrast with San Diego was hard to miss. Craig Stammen also showed a short leash with his starters, but the Padres never seemed as comfortable making the same leap into relief depth, and that difference showed up as the series tightened. Milwaukee kept finding answers in the late innings, which made Murphys willingness to trust his relievers look less like a gamble and more like the adjustment that decided the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphys Postgame Tribute Gave Brewers Fans Chills After NLCS Berth
Pat Murphy made sure Bob Uecker was part of the Brewers NLDS celebration, and it gave Milwaukees postseason run a deeply personal edge. After the club finished off the Padres and punched its ticket to the National League Championship Series, the manager paid tribute to the late franchise icon, tying Uecker to the moments that defined the series and to the kind of memorable, strange October baseball that has always fit his voice so well.
Uecker, the longtime Brewers broadcaster who died in January 2025, remains woven into the fabric of the organization, and Murphys postgame remarks reflected that bond in a way fans could feel. In a week when Milwaukee got the kinds of plays that can swing a series and change a season, the reminder of who has been there for so much of the franchises history added another layer to the celebration. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Became The Center Of Baseballs Salary Cap Fight
The payroll gap across baseballs final five teams has become hard to ignore, and for Milwaukee it sharpens a familiar contrast. The Dodgers sit at the top of the group with a $410 million payroll, while the Brewers are much lower on the spending ladder, a reminder that their path in October has rarely been built on the kind of financial muscle Los Angeles can flex.
Milwaukees place in this conversation matters because the sports broader labor debate is already hovering over the next few seasons. With talk of a possible 2027 lockout and renewed salary-cap discussions, the divide between the Dodgers and clubs like the Brewers is likely to keep coming up, especially if the postseason keeps serving as the clearest argument for both sides of baseballs spending fight. [Read more 🡒]