Three players likely to make the Opening Day roster for the Brewers in 2020 are first baseman Logan Morrison, pitcher Justin Grimm and second baseman Brock Holt.
We’re still a few days away from seeing the Brewers’ official Opening Day roster, but when it comes out there are going to be quite a few new names and faces on it.
Some of the turnover within the Brewers’ organization has been well documented: The offseason departures of Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas, for example, created gaps on the roster for Omar Narvaez and Avisail Garcia. While their spots on the roster have been long anticipated, others have waited months for the opportunity to make the case for a job. Here are a few of the players that appear to have been successful in doing so:
Logan Morrison (1B)
While final roster decisions have not yet been announced, on Sunday the Brewers reportedly told two veteran players they’ve made the roster and Morrison was one of them. The Brewers will be Morrison’s fourth team in as many seasons: He had a big year with the 2017 Rays but was unable to replicate that success with the 2018 Twins and 2019 Phillies. He’s a 10-year MLB veteran but he’s still only 32 years old.
Once a very-highly regarded prospect in the Marlins organization, Morrison has struggled to live up to that billing during his MLB tenure. He had an .868 on-base plus slugging during his big season with the Rays in 2017 but a .712 mark in the five seasons before that and .646 in the two seasons since. He bats from the left side and has been a significantly better hitter against right-handed pitching, so the Brewers will have an opportunity to build a role for him that maximizes his strengths. He’s also been very outspoken about being in great shape at Summer Camp, but it remains to be seen how that will translate into performance.
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Justin Grimm (P)
Grimm was the other player to receive confirmation of his Opening Day roster spot on Sunday and, like Morrison, he’s followed a winding road to Milwaukee: Since pitching for the Cubs in 2017 he’s been with the Royals and Mariners in 2018 and spent 2019 in the minors with the Dodgers and Reds organizations. He’s made just five MLB appearances in the last 24 months, all in September of 2018 with Seattle.
Grimm has pitched in parts of seven MLB seasons but his most memorable year came with the 2015 Cubs, when he appeared in 62 games and had a 1.99 ERA with 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings. The Brewers took a long look at him this spring, putting him in six Cactus League games, and he allowed just one hit over six innings. It’s likely the Brewers will mix and match pitchers in the early weeks of the 2020 season, and Grimm could get an opportunity to work his way into a prominent role.
Brock Holt (2B)
The Brewers haven’t officially announced that Holt will make the Opening Day roster, but his MLB contract and his versatility make him a very likely candidate. The team has even gone so far as to heavily feature Holt in their online coverage of last week’s intra-squad games, having him wear a microphone on the field during one of the webcasts.
Holt was an All Star in 2015 but has settled into more of a part-time utility role since. He’s played every defensive position except pitcher and catcher at the MLB level, giving the Brewers some valuable versatility. He’s also demonstrated positive plate discipline in recent years, posting a .366 on-base percentage for the Red Sox in 2018 and 2019. 2020’s addition of the designated hitter rule in the NL will reduce the need for the Brewers to have players like Holt to use in late-game switches, but he’ll still likely find his way into the lineup a fair amount. His role could expand significantly in the early weeks of the season if Keston Hiura, who has been limited by an arm issue in Summer Camp, continues to need time off.
Of course, making the Opening Day roster is never a guarantee of sticking there. This year that’s truer than ever: While the Brewers can have 30 players on their roster on Friday, they have to cut down to 28 in two weeks and 26 in four weeks. As such, the battle to keep a spot in the coming weeks could be every bit as or more intense than the competition to win a job this spring and summer. For at least a few weeks, however, Brewers fans are going to get a lot of opportunities to get to know some new faces.
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