The Milwaukee Brewers may not have made many notable offseason moves to improve their roster, but they are still predicted by multiple experts to win the National League Central Division for the third year in a row. While losing Willy Adames to free agency and Devin Williams to a trade undoubtedly took star power off of the roster, the belief is that the scrappy Crew led by NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy will find a way to win a lot of games.
One of the reasons Milwaukee is expected to do well in 2025 is because of the emergence of budding superstar Jackson Chourio, who became the youngest player in Major League history to record a 20-20 season. Additionally, 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich is returning from a back injury that limited him to just 75 games last season.
But the constant force, as it is every year for the Brewers, is their bullpen. Even without Williams, Milwaukee has compiled an elite group of relievers who can hold a lead.
Milwaukee Brewers Reliever Nick Mears Lost 9 Pounds Due to an Illness
One of the relievers that was expected to make the Opening Day roster, though, faces a bit of an uphill battle to even get back on the pitching mound. Earlier today, Brewers insider Adam McCalvy revealed that right-handed reliever Nick Mears returned to camp nine pounds lighter after a bout with an undisclosed stomach illness:
Brewers reliever Nick Mears is back in camp nine pounds lighter after battling a stomach bug. Said he’d never been sicker, spent multiple nights sleeping on the bathroom floor. He’ll get 4-5 days to build strength before getting back on the mound.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 13, 2025
As one can see, Mears spent multiple nights sleeping on the floor of his bathroom due to how poor he was feeling. He will now need a few days to build up his strength before he can take the mound again.
Milwaukee acquired Mears on a July 27 trade with the Colorado Rockies last season. Unfortunately, he did not exactly pitch well for the Brewers down the stretch.
In 13 games (12.1 innings), Mears had a 7.30 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. For his career (five seasons), he has a 2-6 record and 5.20 ERA.
That being said, in three appearances this spring, Mears had yet to allow an earned run. In three innings pitched, he gave up five hits, one walk, and an unearned run while notching two strikeouts.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
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