How were the Brewers able to build a roster that had the best record in MLB and is (at the time of writing this) 2 wins from the World Series with the 17th highest tax payroll? They are not quite as low as either of the two teams they would face in the World Series, but it is very impressive.
Let’s go position by position on how they’ve built the team, and determine if their status as a small market team has helped them. Today we will look at the offense.
Catcher
William Contreras (15.3 career bWAR for Mil)
Contract: $9.45M in 2026. $14.5M in2027 FA in 2028
Acquired: In 3-team team trade, with Joel Payamps for Estuary Ruiz (as part of a bigger trade with many more pieces and Sean Murphy going to the Braves).
Notes: Similar to the Jake Arrieta trade to the Cubs, I feel like this has been perhaps the most important trade for the Brewers recent success, providing them the heart of their team for a guy in Ruiz who has bounced around from Oakland to L.A. to Miami. The Brewers got Ruiz from the Padres in the Josh Hader trade, just one example of how they have flipped assets that they acquired to keep improving their team.
Gary Sanchez (0.6 bWAR)
Contract: $1.5M in 2026. FA in 2027
Acquired: Free Agent
Notes: It looked like Reece McGuire was going to get a chance as the backup for MIlwaukee, but the Brwers decided to bring in Gary Sanchez at the last minute, and he contributed a 117 wRC+, very good for a backup catcher.
First Base
Jake Bauers (3.6 bWAR)
Contract: $2.7M in 2026. FA in 2027
Acquired: Traded from the Yankees for two minor leaguers, Jace Avina (Yankees #25 prospect) and Brian Sanchez (now with Miami).
Notes: 2026 was a breakout for Bauers after two mediocre seasons. And it shows that if they like a guy, they are willing to part with minor league talent.
Andrew Vaughn (2.8 bWAR)
Contract: $7.6M in 2026. TBD in 2027. FA in 2028
Acquired: Traded from the White Sox for Aaron Civale and cash.
Notes: He was the #3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, but the White Sox gave up on him after several disappointing season. He was an immediate success for the Brewers with a 142 wRC+ in 2025 (after a 44 wRC+ with the Sox) and a 134 in 2026.
Second Base
Brice Turang (19.1 bWAR)
Contract: $4.125M in 2026. TBD in 2027-29. FA in 2030
Acquired: 21st overall pick in 2018 MLB Draft.
Notes: He was drafted 3 picks before Nico Hoerner, but as a high schooler, he got to the majors later, and still has 3 years of club control. He is the son of a former MLB player. Brian Turang.
Shortstop
Cooper Pratt (1.7 bWAR)
Contract: $2.875M in 2026. $50M extension signed through 2036 with club options in 2034 and 2035.
Acquired: 6th round draft choice in 2023
Notes: Pratt signed well over-slot in 2023 at $1.35M compared to the $309k slot value. This was an example of one advantage they had as a small market team. Here was an article about the bonus pools. Bonus pool money allocated to each team is given out based on the order of the picks, with higher picks being given more money. Despite the Cubs having a worse record and higher draft picks than the Brewers in every round 2023, the “competitive balance” picks awarded to the Brewers gave them extra picks and more money to spend on those picks. But the Brewers were very strategic, spending less money on some of their picks in order to offer more for Pratt, finding a player who might have gone to college at Mississippi if he had not gotten the higher signing bonus. Here is a very good article explaining the situation by Kyle Lobner. Pratt is also an example of Milwaukee signing a young player to a long-term deal very early in his career, which was a strategy employed by the Atlanta with Acuna, Albies, Riles, Harris and Strider in years past. Milwaukee has also done this with Jackson Chourio.
Third Base
David Hamilton (1.8 bWAR)
Contract: $787k in 2026. TBD in 2027-29. FA in 2030 or 2031.
Acquired: Traded from Red Sox with Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Siegler.
Notes: OK…this one is complicated. But here’s Hamilton’s path from the Brewers to the Red Sox and back again:
-Hamilton was drafted by the Brewers in 2019, but was traded with Jackie Bradley Jr. for Hunter Renfrow in December of 2021.
-Renfroe great for the Brewers in 2022 and was flipped to the Angels after the season for Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero.
-Junk and Peguero were rare Brewers “failures” with Junk being waived in 2024 Peguero in 2025.
-Durbin had been acquired from the Yankees in the Devin Williams trade after the 2024 season, and had a solid 4.4 WAR for Boston in 2026
-Monasterio had signed with the Cubs in 2014, but was picked up as a free agent by the Brewers in 2021 and had a 0.6 bWAR for Boston
-Seigler was another free agent signing by the Brewers, and had a 0.5 bWAR for Boston
The willingness to trade Durbin, who turned out to be the centerpiece of the Williams deal showed a certain boldness, allowing them to add a much-needed starter in Harrison, a left reliever in Drohan and the speedy Hamilton.
Infielder
Joey Ortiz (5.6 bWAR)
Contract: $790k in 2026, TBD in 2027-29. FA in 2030
Acquired: Traded with DL Hall from the Orioles for Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season
Notes: Ortiz has been a solid, if unspectacular, third baseman and shortstop over the past 3 seasons. Hall is finally paying dividends as a reliever, while Burnes had a great season for Baltimore before going into free agency and signing with Arizona. Since then he’s been mostly injured, logging only 74.2 innings around major elbow surgery.
Outfielder
Jackson Chourio (10.9 bWAR)
Contract: $7.25M in 2026. 8-year $82M extension though 2033 (club options in 2031 and 2032)
Acquired: International Free Agent in 2024
Notes: Chourio signed for a big $1.8 million bonus as an international free agent in 2021. In addition to getting more money and extra picks in the draft, teams like the Brewers get to use additional money for international free agents. But just having the money to spend is not enough. Looking at the mlb.com list of top 30 international free agents in 2021, a grand total of one has made an impact in the majors, and that person is Jackson Chourio, who was 16th on the list. And then the Brewers made sure to lock him up to a long-term deal. Ultimately, it comes down to great scouting. Now, as he get further along in his deal and become vastly underpaid, what will that do to team chemistry?
Garrett Mitchell (7.0 bWAR)
Contract: $950k in 2026. TBD 2027-28. FA 2029.
Acquired: Drafted as the overall #20 pick in the 2020 draft.
Notes: Ed Howard, who the Cubs drafted in 2020 at #16 was just released. The good news for the Cubs is that they were able to get the guy drafted at #19, Pete Crow-Armstrong. The draft can be a crap shoot, which was especially true during the Covid season. There were misses, as the top 5 were Spencer Torkelson, Heston Kjersted, Max Mayer, Asa Lacy and Austin Martin. Torkelson and Mayer have made an impact in the majors, and Martin has seen some time. But they have not been as impactful as later choices Garrett Crochet, Reid Detmers, PCA and Jordan Walker.
Mitchell has struggled with injury throughout his career, but he appears to be set in the Brewers lineup for the foreseeable future.
Christian Yelich (27.5 bWAR)
Contract: $24M in 2026. $26 in 2027 and 2028. Mutual option in 2029.
Acquired: Traded from Miami in 2018 for Lewis Brinson, Isa Diaz, Monte Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto.
Notes: Once part of a Marlins outfield with Giancarlo Stanton and Marcel Ozuna, Yelich was a steal compared to what the Brewers gave up. That trade does not really line up to what the Brewers do now, but it was almost 9 years ago. Yelich is now mostly a DH, but he can still get big hits, although his wRC+ was only 92 and his bWAR was 0.1 in 2026. It seems appropriate that one of the least productive players on the Brewers roster is their most expensive.
Sal Frelick (5.7 bWAR)
Contract: 800k in 2026. TBD in 2027-29. FA in 2030.
Acquired: 15th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft
Notes: It was a down year for Frelick in 2026, with a -0.5 bWAR. The emergence of Mitchell and Lara has left him on the bench quite often.
Luis Lara
Contract: 2.286 in 2026, 7yr-$31M extension though 2035.
Acquired: Singed as an international free agent in 2022
Notes: In looking at the top 50 international free agents in 2022, Lara’s name is nowhere to be found. This along with Chourio shows how great the international scouting has been for the Brewers. And it also shows that teams don’t need to hit on everybody, but they need to hit on a few guys.
Other Not Currently on the roster:
Bo Naylor
Luis Rengifo
Brandon Lockridge
Luis Matos
Tyler Black
Jonathan Ornales
Jihwan Bae
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