Who Will Make the Brewer's Opening Day Roster?

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Photo Credit: Rough Tough, Real Stuff (Flickr CC)

Chase Anderson is just one Brewer with some work to do in the weeks ahead.

It’s fitting that a long Major League Baseball season starts with a long exhibition campaign. Saturday’s Cactus League opener was the first of 32 games in about a month in the desert, plus a pair in Montreal, before the Brewers return home to open the 2019 regular season against the Cardinals on March 28.

For many of the veterans on the Brewers’ roster, especially on the position player side, the next month represents an opportunity to get their work in while knowing with some comfort that there’s a locker waiting for them at Miller Park in a month. For others, however, there’s a lot at stake in the next few weeks.

The same organizational depth that made the Brewers so successful in 2018 will create a challenge for them in the weeks ahead as dozens of candidates contend for the limited number of opportunities to make an Opening Day roster. Here are three players with some work to do in the weeks ahead:

Mauricio Dubon

With the Mike Moustakas signing obscuring the path for Keston Hiura to reach the majors early in 2019, Dubon might be the Brewers’ position player prospect with the best opportunity to make an impact at the big league level in the short term. Dubon, one of many contributors to the organization acquired from Boston in the Tyler Thornburg deal, might be the Brewers’ best option at shortstop if Orlando Arcia’s offensive inconsistency resurfaces as a concern in the year ahead.

He also, however, has some challenges to overcome. He hasn’t played in a regular season game at any level since May 5, when he tore his ACL playing for Colorado Springs. His rehab took a big step forward when he was in the starting lineup for the first Cactus League game on Saturday, but the Brewers will likely want to get a long look at him this spring to determine if he’s healthy enough and able to shake off the rust from a lost year to contribute if needed.

Chase Anderson

It’s been an up-and-down 12 months for Anderson, who made the first Opening Day start of his career in 2018 but followed that honor with a frustrating year, allowing 21 first inning runs in 30 outings and struggling mightily with the long ball, leading the National League with 30 home runs allowed despite pitching just 158 innings. He posted a sub-4 ERA, but didn’t pitch again after September 18.

Like Dubon, Anderson’s opportunity to prove he deserves an opportunity to contribute to the 2019 Brewers started on Saturday. Unfortunately, it started with another first inning home run. Reading too much into spring results can be a bad idea, but Anderson has work to do this spring to demonstrate that he shouldn’t be one of the odd men out when a deep field of candidates is narrowed down to an Opening Day rotation.

Matt Albers

The Brewers used 30 pitchers in 2018 and it feels like they have at least that many arms in camp again this spring. It’s going to be a crowded race for the final spots in an Opening Day bullpen, and one of the many pitchers with big league experience was something of a forgotten man on the 2018 team. Albers’ first 20 appearances were a big part of the organization’s success as he posted a 1.08 ERA, but he was limited to just 13 appearances after June 1 due to injury and was extremely ineffective in them, allowing 25 runs in his final 9 ⅓ innings.

Craig Counsell took some pressure off Albers last week by announcing that he’s already made the team. A few positive outings for the veteran reliever, however, would go a long way to demonstrate that he’s ready for a prominent role again. If he struggles, on the other hand, it’s going to raise questions about whether the Brewers should give his roster spot to one of many other options, and whether they have too much faith in a pitcher that turned 36 in January.