Brewers Open to Using Angel Zerpa as a Starter
The Brewers completed a three-player swap with the Royals, sending Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to Kansas City in exchange for Angel Zerpa. The deal was formally announced after reports surfaced yesterday. Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold discussed the trade with Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and shared an intriguing possibility: Zerpa could return to the rotation, rather than staying in the bullpen.
“We have some scouts who believe he can do it. He has done it in the past,” Arnold stated. “This guy also brings postseason experience, which we value highly. A pitcher with that kind of versatility and big-game experience is something we think will be a real asset.”
In recent years, teams have grown more willing to experiment with pitching roles, sometimes converting relievers into starters or giving traditional relievers extended workloads. The concept is shifting from demanding seven innings or multiple turns through a lineup to simply asking a reliever to handle a larger, more flexible workload when appropriate.
Zerpa started his pro career as a starter and appeared as a starter in three of his first four major-league games (2021–22). However, in 2023 he started only three of 15 appearances, and since then he has largely served as a left-handed bullpen option for Kansas City. Over 118 1/3 innings in 2024–25, Zerpa posted a 4.03 ERA, a 20.8% strikeout rate, an 8.0% walk rate, and an impressive 60.6% ground-ball rate.
Right-handed hitters hit notably well against Zerpa, even as he predominantly succeeded against lefties. He tends to allow substantial hard contact, with his strikeout and walk numbers not particularly strong. Zerpa throws hard, averaging 96.2 mph with his fastball in 2025, but his four-seam fastball hasn’t been highly effective lately, while his 96.6 mph sinker remains his best offering. In 2025, his slider accounted for 44.6% of his usage, with a changeup and a four-seam fastball used 31.9% and 19.8% of the time, respectively. As noted by Hogg, incorporating a changeup more frequently could help Zerpa transition back to a starting role.
The ensemble of pitches isn’t an obvious answer for a rotation job right away, and it’s possible Zerpa may end up staying in the bullpen if Milwaukee doesn’t pursue a starting role in spring training. Still, the Brewers’ belief in Zerpa’s potential to start is a plus for the experiment. Milwaukee has a track record of developing lesser-known pitchers into effective starters or relievers, a key factor behind the team’s sustained success over the past decade. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Brewers help Zerpa unlock a higher level of performance, regardless of whether he starts or relieves.
Arnold added that Milwaukee had been pursuing Zerpa for some time, describing him as a strong arm with valuable ingredients. “We’re very excited to pair him with our coaches, who have a long history of getting the most out of arms like this.”
Zerpa is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and is under team control through 2028. Because he has spent most of his career as a non-closer, his projected first-year arbitration figure is about $1.2 million. That’s a reasonable price tag whether he remains in the bullpen or transitions to the rotation; if he becomes a full-fledged starter, his value could rise even more under Milwaukee’s control window.
One potential obstacle is Milwaukee’s current rotation depth. Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, and Jacob Misiorowski are in the projected five-man mix, with additional depth options like Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Carlos Rodriguez, and Tobias Myers in play. The old adage that you can’t have too much pitching applies here, as injuries and workload fluctuations tend to thin a staff. With Peralta and Woodruff entering free agency next winter, trade chatter surrounding Peralta could reshape Milwaukee’s rotation outlook, potentially opening even more space for Zerpa in the rotation if the club chooses to push him into a starter role.
So, the Zerpa move represents more than a simple swap of players. It signals the Brewers’ willingness to experiment with a versatile arm who could contribute in multiple ways, depending on how spring unfolds. Whether Zerpa ends up in the rotation, the bullpen, or somewhere in between, Milwaukee appears ready to leverage his talents to bolster a pitching staff that has long been a catalyst for the team’s competitive edge.
