Jimmy Nelson, Brent Suter among six players added by Brewers as rosters expand for September

Craig Counsell said he managed aggressively with his pitching on Saturday afternoon knowing there would be a slew of fresh arms available today. Now we know who will be available for the season’s final month as the Brewers try to make another improbable September run.

The news on a couple additions first broke on Saturday, and now it’s official: both Jimmy Nelson and Brent Suter are coming off the 60-day disabled list to join the active roster and are expected to contribute this month. Nelson says he feels like his old self after his most recent rehab stint, and Suter is back on the big league roster about 13 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

They’ll be joined in the bullpen by Jake Faria and Freddy Peralta, who are getting called up once again.

There are also reinforcements coming with the bats, which are needed considering the slew of injuries the lineup has had to deal with in the past week. David Freitas is getting called up and will give the Brewers a third catcher. Tyler Austin, recently signed to a minor league contract, is being added to the 40-man roster and will provide another possible bat at first base and the corner outfield spots.

A number of 40-man roster spots had to be cleared for all of these moves, including some surprises. As first reported by The Athletic early Sunday morning, Jeremy Jeffress is being designated for assignment and will ultimately be given his release if/when he clears waivers.

The Brewers confirmed that this morning, also announcing DFAs for outfielder Troy Stokes, Jr. and pitcher Aaron Wilkerson.

Stokes struggled to produce this year after being added ot the 40-man roster, while Wilkerson has never quite been able to get over the AAAA-type arm hump with the Brewers despite largely pitching well in Triple-A.

With the team still on the outer fringes of playoff contention, we’ll see how much guys like Freitas and Austin will play, although if the team does fall further out of the race in the coming weeks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone like Faria get a shot at starting games as the team starts to look forward to 2020.