Pat Murphy Gives Update on 26-Year-Old's Future With Brewers

The Brewers will seemingly be looking to use their relief pitchers in new roles this season...

Oct 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (49) speaks to media on the field before game three against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers have been quite active this offseason. In fact, they were likely much more active this winter than many expected them to be.

They traded Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets in a deal that brought Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to Milwaukee. This deal didn't come as a shock because Peralta's contract was expiring and the Brewers seemed unlikely to be able to land him on a new deal.

The Brewers also traded Caleb Durbin and a pair of other infielders to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, and Shane Drohan. This deal seemed to come out of nowhere for the Brewers and it doesn't make too much sense right now. The Brewers seemingly believe in Harrison to be an ace, which could change the entire outlook of the trade.

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But the Brewers made another notable move that's often been overlooked. They traded Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Angel Zerpa.

Pat Murphy discusses Angel Zerpa's role with the Brewers

Nashville Sounds manager Rick Sweet talks with pitchers Angel Zerpa and Sammy Peralta during spring training workouts Saturday, February 14, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brewers manager Pat Murphy recently discussed Zerpa's future in Milwaukee, noting that they could look to extend him out for multiple innings in the same way they plan on doing so with Aaron Ashby.

"I think what we'll do is we'll put him on the same path as what we talked about with Ashby, start to go and then see where we're at," Murphy said when asked about Zerpa's role with the team this year. "It's a team. You can't always do what's the easiest route or whatever seems to be good on paper. We've got to mold it together. The staff, all the pieces have got to come together."

Zerpa made 69 appearances for the Royals last season, and he went for more than three outs in 26 of those. With the Brewers, the lefty could be extended out even further.

The Brewers have a very young pitching staff, aside from Brandon Woodruff. With this comes a lot of shaky starts. The Brewers could be turning to their bullpen in the fourth or fifth inning more often than they'd like. If Zerpa would be able to give them three innings out of the bullpen, it would be a huge advantage.

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