The Brewers enter October with the kind of bullpen advantage every contender wants: fresh enough to matter, seasoned enough to trust, and deep enough that Pat Murphy can keep playing the matchup game without running his arms into the ground.
That balance has been a big part of Milwaukee’s late-season success. With one game left, the Brewers have already locked up the top seed in the National League, and the club will also get five days off between the end of the regular season and the start of the NLDS. That break should give Murphy and his staff time to reset the pitching staff and line everybody up for the playoff run that begins next Saturday.
Even so, the grind of a 162-game season leaves its mark. That’s especially true for a young group that has already piled up innings beyond what many of these pitchers had done in any previous season. Murphy’s “Win Tonight” approach has pushed several relievers hard, and the totals show it.
Aaron Ashby has logged 85.0 innings. Antonio Senzatela sits at 73.0.
Trevor Megill has handled 61.2 innings as one of the more frequently used closers in the game. Chad Patrick has reached 105.2 innings, while Shane Drohan has gone all the way to 123.0 when his time in the rotation is included.
In that mix, one postseason bullpen piece stands out for a different reason: JoJo Romero.
Romero is the arm with the lighter workload, and that may wind up being a real edge for Milwaukee in October. The Brewers got the left-hander from the St.
Louis Cardinals in the four-player deal that sent Dustin May to Milwaukee at the August 3 trade deadline, but Romero was unavailable at the time because he was recovering from an emergency appendectomy in mid-July. He didn’t make his Brewers debut until September 1.
The adjustment period was understandable. After missing that much time, Romero allowed runs in two of his first four appearances.
But the last stretch has looked a lot more like the pitcher Milwaukee hoped it was getting. Since giving up three runs to the Cincinnati Reds on September 6, Romero has worked seven outings, posted a 0.90 ERA, covered 10 innings, struck out nine, and not issued a walk.
Pat Murphy has liked what he’s seen. Ahead of the team’s recent road trip, he said, "He just loves to be out there.
You can tell it’s where his happy place is. He works fast, he’s coming at you with any pitch at any time.
I think he’s a real valuable addition."
Murphy was also asked whether Romero appeared fresher than the rest of the bullpen because of the long layoff, and he answered, "Probably. I think he’d like to have a few more until he’s really in midseason form."
Since then, Romero has made five appearances in 10 days, and his latest outing was his sharpest yet. Against the Cardinals last night, he worked 1.2 innings, didn’t allow a baserunner, and struck out three of the five hitters he faced.
That lines up neatly with Murphy’s read. Romero looks like he’s getting where Milwaukee wants him to be at exactly the right time, and if that form holds, the overlooked deadline pickup could end up being one of the Brewers’ most important bullpen weapons in October.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Got A Joey Ortiz Update They Had To Hear
Joey Ortiz gave the Brewers a much-needed scare check on the injury front, but the early read appears encouraging. An MRI came back clean enough for manager Pat Murphy to describe the results as good, easing concern around the abdominal swelling and bruised knee that had put Ortiz in the spotlight as Milwaukee turns its attention to October.
Ortiz has become an important piece for the Brewers since his game took a real step forward in mid-June, and the team is counting on that version of him in the postseason. For now, the expectation is that hell be ready when the National League Division Series begins on October 3, which is the kind of update Milwaukee needed after a tense few days. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Yelich Had One Condition Before Accepting Brewers Captaincy
Christian Yelich has long been one of the steady voices inside the Brewers clubhouse, so it did not come as a shock when the club officially elevated him to captain. The move, Milwaukees first formal captaincy, came with Robin Younts blessing and was later confirmed by manager Pat Murphy, a reminder that this was as much about respect and presence as it was about production on the field.
Yelich will now wear a C on his jersey, placing him in a small group of active major leaguers with that distinction. The timing also suggests the Brewers were deliberate about making sure the role fit the person, not just the rsum, and there was one requirement Yelich wanted met before he said yes to the honor. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Woodruff Just Reached A Rehab Stage Brewers Fans Needed
Brandon Woodruff has reached a meaningful checkpoint in his rehab, getting medical approval to begin throwing off a mound as he works his way back. For a Brewers team that has been waiting on any encouraging signs from one of its most important arms, it is the kind of development that at least keeps the door cracked on a late-season return.
Pat Murphy still made it clear the odds remain long, and the club has not framed this as a sure thing. Woodruff was originally expected to need surgery, so the fact that he has continued recovering without it has already changed the conversation, even if the next steps now matter more than ever. [Read more 🡒]