Taylor

Clarke

None of the aforementioned players were favorites to break camp with the team. However, Castro could see at-bats this season as a depth piece, while Clarke will likely get innings out of the bullpen at some point during the season when injuries strike.

While Jac Caglianone is the biggets name on the list of non-roster invitees, Cross is intriguing in his own right. The 23-year-old outfielder — and ninth overall pick from the 2022 draft class — slashed .261/.342/.428 with 15 homers, 59 RBI and 30 stolen bases (32 attempts) in 101 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2024. There’s a good chance that we see him in Kansas City at some point during the 2025 season and his speed would give him some appeal from a fantasy perspective.

Clarke heads back to Kansas City where he spent two seasons from 2022-2023 after spending last year in the Brewers’ organization. He missed most of last season recovering from right knee surgery and didn’t end up making an appearance for Milwaukee. The 31-year-old righty holds a pedestrian 5.03 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 260/97 K/BB ratio across 279 1/3 innings (183 appearances) in the majors since 2019. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture of his career.

Milwaukee had to kick someone off the 40-man roster to make room for the newly acquired Aaron Civale. Clarke was yet to appear in the majors this season and had a 5.34 ERA in 10 games with Triple-A Nashville. The Brewers have seven days to trade Clarke or place him on waivers.

Clarke spent most of 2021-23 as a major league reliever, but the Brewers reintroduced him to the rotation in Triple-A and would have considered him next time they needed an extra starter. He had a 3.46 ERA in 26 innings for Nashville since returning from knee surgery last month.

Clarke underwent successful knee surgery at the end of spring training and time ran out on his minor league rehab assignment. The 31-year-old right-hander still needs more time to build up though before he’s an option to rejoin the Brewers’ bullpen, so he’ll stay at Triple-A Nashville and continue to work there.

No word yet on a timeline for his recovery, other than Murphy noting that Clarke would be out for the immediate future. It would be somewhat surprising if Clarke were ready to return before the All-Star break.

Clarke appears headed for knee surgery to address a meniscus issue, which will likely result in a lengthy absence.

Clarke is apparently dealing with a meniscus issue, and will likely wind up requiring surgery, after being shut down from throwing last weekend. He’ll be officially placed on the injured list prior to Friday’s season opener against the Mets.

Clarke underwent an MRI earlier this week and appears likely to open the season on the injured list. There should be an update on his status at some point in the near future. His absence opens up another spot in Milwaukee’s season-opening bullpen.