Brewers Could Soon Get Major Bullpen Boost From Unexpected Source

A riveting summer for the Milwaukee Brewers is slowly but steadily turning into a pressure-packed pennant race.

The only team in Major League Baseball with 70 wins so far, the Brewers are flying high. But there are still other contenders with more talent on paper, and the fact that Milwaukee hasn't won a playoff series since 2018 is looming large.

So with the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Brewers will gladly accept any other methods of improving their roster before the playoffs arrive. Might one player's return from a year-long stint on the injured list help matters?

Brewers' Robert Gasser could be X-factor in Milwaukee's playoff chase

Robert Gasser hasn't been healthy enough to pitch for the Brewers since undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer, but the exciting young left-hander has now made a total of four rehab appearances, totaling six innings.

Though the 26-year-old still figures to be a rotation option for the Brewers in years to come, he might be an impactful piece out of the bullpen this season, as ESPN's Alden González explained in a piece published on Thursday.

"The Brewers acquired Gasser as part of the package that sent former closer Josh Hader to San Diego in summer 2022 and watched him shine as a rookie in 2024, putting up a 2.57 ERA with one walk in 28 innings. But then his ulnar collateral ligament gave out, triggering a long rehab that is finally reaching its conclusion," González wrote.

"The Brewers see him as a starter long term, but there might not be room for him in the 2025 rotation. If that's the case, he can be an impact lefty out of the bullpen. The Brewers acquired only one traditional reliever in Shelby Miller before the trade deadline, largely because they believe starters like Gasser, Chad Patrick and Tobias Myers can help them out of the bullpen when it matters most."

Jared Koenig will likely remain as the primary left-handed option out of the bullpen the rest of the way, and Aaron Ashby has earned his innings, too. But Gasser, if his stuff ticks up from the already-impressive level he displayed last summer, could be a very formidable bullpen weapon for the Brewers in the playoffs.

First things first: get the youngster back up to speed and see what he's got. But it's not crazy to think Gasser could be throwing big innings for Milwaukee out of the 'pen in October.

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