The Brewers and star catcher William Contreras avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2027 season, per a team announcement. The Octagon client will earn $9.4MM in 2026, and the 2027 option is valued at $14.5MM, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Contreras’ camp had filed for a $9.9MM salary. The team filed at $8.5MM.
Contreras wasn’t eligible for free agency until the 2027-28 offseason, so the option doesn’t give the Brewers any additional club control. It does provide some potential cost certainty, however, while ensuring that this deal to avoid arbitration can’t be used as a data point in future arbitration cases; one-year arrangements with option years are considered multi-year deals for arbitration purposes and thus aren’t eligible to be cited as comps (by the Brewers or other clubs). If Milwaukee ends up declining that option, Contreras would still be under club control. He’d simply be arbitration-eligible again. The Brewers declined a $12MM club option on Contreras for the upcoming season back in November.
More to come.
I wonder if they’ll pick up the option before they trade him next off-season.
Why? He’d remain under club control for whoever they could trade him to next year. The club option was only included as an arbitration data point tactic.
Derp!
Why would they trade him after this coming season??? He’s under team control till the end of the ‘27 season
Maybe the Brew crew will scoop up Mark Vientos, from the Mets.
He’d be a steal at this point.
What OF you willing to part with? Idk if the Mets would take Frelick one for one with Vientos but it may be a good conversation starter
Milwaukee wants nothing to do with him. Why would they give up anything for someone like that?
Frelick has MORE value than Vientos, not less……
And cue the meltdowns
That 2027 option isn’t super expensive, especially if he puts up a good 2026 season.
Fangraphs had him worth $29mm last year with his busted finger. That ’27 option is pure gold.
I’m sorry he is the single most important person to extend and get locked up. No way they should let him get out the door. Woody will probably be gone and Yellich will 2 years closer to his contract ending.