This year, however, the Brewers have a bit of a mix-and-match roster outlook, and it could force Pat Murphy into some dilemmas as to when to pull that trigger and when not to. At second and third base, the gallimaufry includes Brice Turang (left-handed hitter), Andruw Monasterio (right), Oliver Dunn (left), Owen Miller (right), Tyler Black (left), Joey Ortiz (right), and Sal Frelick (left). In the outfield, there’s Frelick, Joey Wiemer (right), Garrett Mitchell (left), Blake Perkins (switch), and Chris Roller (right), all for whichever spot isn’t claimed by Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio.

Once a player’s name is in the lineup card, should Murphy pinch-hit for them if the opponents make a late switch to a same-handed pitcher, or should he put his trust in the player already in the flow of the game?

“Certain guys, if they’re coming away from an injury, or say I know but don’t want to tell you guys that he’s got something—his hamstring’s bugging him, his hand’s bugging him, whatever it might be—I don’t want the other team to know he’s down. But I may know he’s down,” Murphy said. Otherwise, however, he envisions being fairly aggressive with pinch-hit options. “My philosophy about it is, when there’s an off day and I’m giving a guy a blow, he knows seventh, eighth, or ninth, he’s eligible to pinch-hit.”

That could come into play with all the players above, plus Jake Bauers and their three catchers. Because they do (tentatively) expect to carry all of William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, and Eric Haase, there might be times when one catcher (Contreras or Sánchez) is acting as the designated hitter, but even on such days, Murphy will have the option to pinch-hit someone like left-handed hitter Jake Bauers for either Sánchez or Haase against a tough righty hurler.

Mitchell, in particular, could find himself doing a lot of pinch-hitting and coming in often as a substitute, based on the current configuration of the roster. He’s ready for those opportunities.

“I’ve had some opportunities of doing that already, over the past couple years, whether it was in spring training or during the season,” Mitchell said. “I am usually prepared. Prepared doesn’t necessarily mean success, or good results, but I’m prepared.”

Therein lies the rub. Ever-improving hitting tunnels and advanced video work have made the job of pinch-hitting theoretically easier than it was for much of the game’s history. That’s theory. In practice, the pinch-hitter penalty remains robust, so it seems possible that it’s more wired into our nervous systems than it is a question of getting loose and ready. There might be a naturally occurring drug in the cocktail of the increased pressure late in games and the disadvantage of not having seen the opposing pitching staff a time or two already when the moment comes.

Murphy still believes in seeking out good matchups, but he lets numbers guide him, too, so don’t expect a rash of unjustifiable pinch-hitters. It will have to be a targeted strike, when the moment is just right. Obviously, every win is sacred, but that’s why Murphy knows better than to defy what the information is telling him.

“Every team’s an analytics team,” Murphy said. “You’re way behind if you don’t have an R&D department that’s providing players with information, through the coaching staff. I think we’re past the point of, ‘This is an analytics team, this is not.’ Everyone is doing it. We don’t preach it, but that doesn’t mean we’re not.

“You have to have precise information. It’s not our guess. My gut gets influenced by the information I have.”

If the gap between expected production by two players (if Monasterio starts against a lefty, for instance, but then a tough righthander comes in and Dunn is available) is wide enough to cover the pinch-hit penalty, Murphy will go to his bench. Days off can’t be treated as sacred, if the team wants to maximize their chances of winning every day