For the first time in their 57-year history, the Brewers are World Series champions. Still a contender despite a lower payroll and the contributions of unheralded players, Milwaukee broke through with a disciplined offense (MLB’s best 10.6 percent walk rate), terrific defense and baserunning, and a strong bullpen that supported a rotation led by the NL’s likely Cy Young Award winner.
It’s a party in Milwaukee right now, but the celebration can’t last long. The offseason begins today and with it, crucial decisions that will shape their chances of defending the World Series crown.
The Brewers’ model is now well known. They stood up to sign Christian Yélich long term in March 2020, and they have more recently extended top prospects like Jackson Chourio, Aaron Ashby, Cooper Pratt And Luis Lara before even playing in the majors. Chourio, Pratt and Lara hadn’t even made a single major league appearance when the trio signed respective long-term contracts guaranteeing them $82 million, $50.75 million and $31 million.
That created some long-term continuity, but it’s a near-annual tradition for Milwaukee executives to make tough decisions and trade away star players who are on the cusp of free agency. In recent years, the Brewers have traded Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams And Freddy Peralta when they only had one year of control of the club left (one year and counting for Hader, who was sent away at the ’22 trade deadline). The Brewers now find themselves in this same position with catcher William Contreras and closer Trevor Megill. Both are free agents after the 2027 season. I touched on them briefly in this morning’s Top 40 offseason trade candidates list, but it’s worth diving into in more detail.
Despite the Brewers’ history, Megill and especially Contreras are not locks who can be shipped out of town. Far from it. The Brewers tend to run their salaries in the bottom third of the league, which has made it difficult to keep star players through their final arbitration seasons while still being able to build a competitive roster around them. Winning this year’s World Series should create more payroll space in the short term.
Andy McCullough and Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote this week that the Brewers privately believe the influx of postseason revenue will indeed give them more money to operate for the foreseeable future — certainly through 2027. Milwaukee holds a $14.5 million club option on Contreras, who is coming off a World Series MVP victory. If he had a bad season, they could have declined the option and tried to retain him in his final year of arbitration at a lower price. However, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an arbitration fee of $14.6 million for Contreras. Milwaukee will surely choose the option, knowing that he is committed for next season.
It still remains to be decided whether to keep Contreras or, as they have done in the past with Hader, Burnes, Peralta, Williams, Jonathan Lucroy and others, cash it in against a multitude of prospects. It would be a devastating decision for the fans and the clubhouse, but it’s the kind of bitter pill that the baseball operations staff has been willing to swallow in order to keep the club competitive year after year. Contreras himself is only in this position because of this exchange with Hader. Milwaukee selected the outfielder Esteury Ruiz in that trade and, a few months later, flipped Ruiz to the A’s in a three-team trade that sent Contreras from Atlanta to Milwaukee. The other player the Brewers landed in exchange for Hader also had something to do with this year’s World Series win: a left-handed pitcher named Robert Gasser.
It should be emphasized, however, that no all Brewers stars are being traded ahead of their final year of club control. Milwaukee chose to hang on Willy Adamès for his final season with the team and instead made him a qualifying offer after the 2024 campaign. This earned them a first-round compensatory pick when he signed with the Giants. They used the pick to select high school shortstop Brady Ebelwho now ranks among their top seven to eight prospects.
McCullough and Sammon note that president of baseball operations Matt Arnold has previously cited Adames’ leadership qualities and overall contributions at a top defensive position as a reason to keep Adames rather than trading him for controllable prospects. This also rings true for Contreras. It’s also worth pointing out that there is no catcher of the future waiting in the wings. Former top prospect Jefferson Quero had a poor showing in 2026. Milwaukee bought cheap on old Guardians backstop Bo Naylor at the trade deadline, but he’s actually a lottery ticket — a former top prospect who collected as a rookie in 2023 but has since been an all-glove catcher in 900 major league appearances. With no immediate help on the horizon, the Brewers would need to acquire a new starting catcher to replace the reigning World Series MVP. It’s not really an attractive bet.
The other approach the Brewers could consider would be to attempt to sign Contreras long-term. Doing it now would mean signing him to what would likely be only the third nine-figure contract in franchise history, joining Yelich and Ryan Braun.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Brewers made a move by signing Contreras to a long-term deal in 2025. Milwaukee offered a three-year deal worth $35 million that contained a club option for one additional season. Unsurprisingly, this was unsuccessful.
Contreras made $9.4 million this season and is expected to make $14.5 million next year. They couldn’t know exactly where his arbitration numbers would end up at that point, but they probably had a rough idea — as did his reps at Ocatgon. While Contreras took home about $24 million between his final two years in arbitration, Milwaukee’s offer effectively amounted to buying out a free agent year for $11 million. Although they estimated he would have made around $22 million over his final two years in arbitration, this offer was to buy out a free agent year at a cost of around $13 million – while also addressing a possible fourth year via club option. Heyman writes that the offer was deemed low enough that Contreras’ camp did not bother to counter it.
This does not prevent a broader offer which, however, gives Contreras pause this time. Next year’s salary is more or less in place. An extension would likely cover five more seasons, although perhaps a hearty AAV over four more years would make him reconsider the proposal. Milwaukee’s deal with Yelich runs through 2028. The two extensions are expected to overlap by just one year. Even if Brewers owners were only comfortable with an annual salary of over $20 million, they could slightly delay an extension for Contreras and have him become their highest-paid player starting in 1929, when Yelich was no longer rostered (or re-signed at a lower rate).
With Megill, who turns 33 in December, it’s a different story. He is four years older than Contreras. Although the Brewers don’t have a clear alternative at catcher waiting in the wings, they are comically thrust into the arms of the bullpen. Aaron Ashby’s turn in the playoffs could position him to advance to the ninth. Abner Uribe, DL room and underrated right-hander Grant Anderson we will all come back next year. And the Brewers could truly lay claim to being the industry leader in mining diamonds in the rough from the bullpen. Megill himself, acquired for a PTBNL after being designated for assignment by several teams, is a proof of concept in this regard.
We don’t know if the qualifying offer system will remain in place in a new CBA, but if it does, he’s not the type of player who would command that expensive one-year deal. Contreras absolutely is, so even if Milwaukee can’t extend him, they would be compensated for his departure. Megill would be much more likely to leave without compensation. He would also generate considerable interest around the league. Most suitors wouldn’t pay attention to his projected $8 million salary – not going 61 2/3 innings with a 2.63 ERA with a 28.5% strikeout rate and a 6.2% walk rate. He can absolutely look to Milwaukee for at least one notable prospect or a younger, less established side with more control over the club.
The Brewers also face a decision on first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Swartz projects a salary of $8.5 million for Vaughn, who was a part-time player in 2026 and posted a .306/.390/.444 line in 331 trips to the plate. He saw regular action against lefties and hit them at a .336/.421/.517 clip while fitting closer to average offense against righties. The Brewers generally don’t spend a lot of money at first base. Vaughn could reasonably be forced into an everyday role, but Milwaukee could consider a trade or even a no-tender, thereby reallocating those dollars while seeking a more affordable option initially.
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