Now, more than ever, Chad Patrick has cemented himself as a solidified threat in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen.

Moving starters to the bullpen has been a staple of this franchise, but it doesn't always work out for the best. In this scenario, however, Patrick has been lights-out and further proved why manager Pat Murphy's move was a thing of genius.

Murphy hasn't given up on Patrick as a starter ... far from it. But moving the 27-year-old pitcher out of the starting rotation proves just how much depth this team truly has.

Even without Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers have a ton of young studs on their hands and Patrick still fits into that conversation. Now, though, Patrick is making quite a name for himself outside of some of the brilliant starts he's had going back to last season.

Aaron Ashby, the MLB's leader in wins, struggled big time in the Brewers' May 19 showdown in Chicago against the Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee was able to prevail and not only take the series, but reclaim first place in the National League Central Division, but that was thanks to a three-pitch effort from Patrick to keep the team's lead intact.

Of Patrick's 38 big-league appearances, 28 of those have been starts. Keep in mind, last season, he started 23 of the 27 games he played in. As for 2026, his role has begun to change.

Patrick has appeared in 11 games this season, but has made just five starts. Sure, it comes with a much smaller sample size, but his ERA is down from 3.53 to 2.72 as his WHIP has also fallen from 1.28 to 1.24.

The Cubs seemed to have the Brewers on the ropes in the eighth inning, but Patrick, in a role he's still extremely new to, delivered. The Indiana native needed just three pitches to record a groundout and escape what could've been a situation detrimental to the tremendous start Jacob Misiorowski gave this team.

While Patrick hasn't gone the month of May without a blemish, all four runs he gave up came in a rough start in St. Louis on May 4.

Other than that, he's been perfect. Patrick has thrown as many as four innings in a single bullpen appearance (which notably netted him his first major-league save), and he's allowed just three hits along with nine strikeouts to one walk in that span.

Keeping Patrick in the bullpen doesn't seem like a forever move, but for now, it's given this team life as Murphy found a major issue and addressed it with flying colors.

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