Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat was confident he would make the team, but he found out in a funny way.
The Milwaukee Brewers are set to begin the 2026 season by hosting the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, and right-hander Brandon Sproat learned that he made the team in a comedic way.
Sproat, one of the New York Mets’ top prospects before coming to Milwaukee as part of the trade for Freddy Peralta in January, learned he had earned his spot with the Brewers by manager Pat Murphy informing him in boisterous fashion.
“So everyone was telling me congratulations about making the team. I was like, I have no idea what you're talking about,” Sproat said. “And then I went and got food because my day was over. I came around the corner and he was standing by his office. He was like, ‘Hey! You made the team, deal with it!’”
Sproat took the news in stride, knowing now that is how Murphy operates with his humor.
“Yeah. I mean, just, that's Murph. I mean, it's, it's funny,” Sproat said. “I'm just super excited. So you never know until you hear, you know, hear it confirmed from the manager or the general manager.”
Sproat, 25, was packaged alongside top prospect Jett Williams in the trade for Peralta. Last season, he appeared in four games for the Mets, all of which were starts, and went 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA.
Sproat felt confident about his chances of making the team after putting together what he believed to be a good spring training slate.
“I thought spring training went really well,” Sproat said. “Got a lot of work done. I mean, still work to be done, but, the progress that I made with Hookie and Jim and all of them, I thought it was really, really good in my eyes.
“Did all I could do,” Sproat added. “But I mean, you know, I was able to get the full confirmation from him. So, like you said, once you hear from the manager, then it's a full go.”
Sproat received the starting nod on Tuesday in Milwaukee’s final exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds before the season begins. In four innings, Sproat struck out five batters while allowing two hits and two walks. Afterward, he evaluated his performance.
“I thought today went really well,” Sproat said. “Obviously, you know, just kind of work on things throughout spring training, you know, tinker with new stuff; dialing the mechanics throughout spring training; work on the cutter. You know, like I said, that was new this year. I really have enjoyed throwing that pitch.
“Still making progress with the sweeper,” he said. “But, like I said, I thought today was pretty sharp for the most part.”
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