There recently has been some shuffling around in terms of the Brewers 40 man roster. This opens the door for minor league players to get a call up to the majors. There currently are three spots available that the Brewers can fill at any time.
The recent roster shuffling began after J.C. Mejia was suspended for 80 games. As a result, right-handed relief pitcher Trevor Kelley was added to the 40 man roster and he made his debut in the series finale against the Atlanta Braves. Another move included out-righting Alec Betting to Triple-A.
RHP Alec Bettinger outrighted to Triple-A Nashville.
The 40-man roster stands at 37. pic.twitter.com/FUPK3e6NlJ
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 19, 2022
Here are three players who could potentially be chosen to fill an open 40 man roster spot.
1) LHP Ethan Small
Ethan Small, the former first round pick in the 2019 MLB draft, has been dominating in the minor leagues. He has a career 1.97 ERA over 130 innings. This year at Triple-A he has a 1.95 ERA with 32.1 innings pitched over seven starts. He was scratched from his last start due to a non-COVID related illness.
Craig Counsell indicated during spring training that Small will make starts for the Brewers this year. The biggest question is when. The Brewers do play 19 games in the next 18 days, so there may be an opportunity there. However, Aaron Ashby has been the teams sixth starter during prolonged stretches without an off-day and no other starter is in danger of losing their rotation spot, so Small being promoted in the near future for this reason is not a guarantee.
2) RHP Connor Sadzeck
Connor Sadzeck is a 30 year old right handed reliever that stands at six feet seven inches tall. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2019 for the Seattle Mariners where he had a 2.66 ERA over 23 innings pitched. Career wise, he has thrown 33 major league innings with an ERA of 2.18.
This year he currently has a .068 ERA in 12 appearances. He has picked up one save and three holds on the year. Adding Sadzeck to the 40 man roster would be similar to how the Brewers added Trevor Kelley in that they both would be veteran players with big league experience.
3) SS Brice Turang
There may be a scenario where the Brewers fourth ranked prospect gets called up. Turang earned a promotion to Triple-A last season and has been off to a good start in 2022. In 147 at-bats he has a .279/.340/.408/.748 slash line and has driven in 23 runs. Turang’s 41 hits are the most on the Nashville Sounds. In April he tied a Sounds franchise record when he recorded five hits in a game.
With Willy Adames on the IL after sustaining a high ankle sprain, it is possible that the Brewers turn to Turang for a short period of time. Luis Urias is currently playing short stop with him out and Jace Peterson would be the backup. Adding Turang would give Urias a break from the demands at shortstop. Turang has just one error at shortstop this year in 29 games played at the position.
It will be interesting to see who the Brewers initially choose to fill these open 40 man roster spots and when they decide to make these moves.
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