The confetti has barely settled on the Milwaukee Brewers’ first championship in franchise history, but the biggest offseason questions are already popping off. The Brewers just took down the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2026 World Series after a straight-up historic regular season, racking up a franchise-record 103 wins. They followed that up with an insane 11-2 playoff run, including eight straight wins from Game 4 of the NLDS right through to Game 3 of the World Series. But now, even with that ring on their finger, the Brewers’ playbook means a key part of that championship core, William Contreras, could be on the move.
The Reigning Champs Have a Brewing Problem
This isn’t just any team, folks. The Brewers have been the absolute best in MLB for the last two seasons, racking up 200 regular season wins since the start of 2025 and hitting the NLCS both years before finally getting that World Series title. A huge part of that success was keeping basically all their key players around, like William Contreras, Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, Jacob Misiorowski, Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby. The only big-name guy who left was Freddy Peralta, traded to the Mets in January 2026. Here’s the kicker: Peralta was in the last year of his deal when they moved him.
Now, flash forward to William Contreras. He’s in the exact same spot. The Brewers have a $15.5 million team option for him in 2027, and there’s no doubt they’ll pick that up. But their whole thing, their “modus operandi” as they say, is to trade a player a year before he hits free agency and gets too expensive. This maximizes what they get back. And let me tell you, there would be a massive trade market for Contreras. He’s one of the few high-level defensive catchers in the league who can actually hit, slashing .270/.341/.417 in 2026 as the only catcher with at least 500 plate appearances. It would sting to see him go, but it’s the Brewers way.
Bauers’ Career Year: A Blessing Or A Curse For Milwaukee?
It’s not just Contreras that’s making things interesting for Milwaukee. They’ve got four impending free agents, and Jake Bauers is the biggest name on that list. This guy just turned 31 and had a career year, topped off by winning NLCS MVP! In a free-agent class that isn’t exactly stacked with top-tier hitters, Bauers stands out because his batted-ball profile is just insane: elite-level exit velocities, hard-hit rates, bat speed, chase rate, and walk rate. The Athletic’s Tim Britton thought he’d get a two-year, $29.5 million deal back in August, but that was before he went off in the postseason.
A two-year deal might keep Bauers in Milwaukee’s budget, but a 31-year-old bat-first player who never had this kind of track record before this season? That’s a serious risk for any team. As for the Rays, they lost the Fall Classic for the second time this decade, but they’ve been consistently good, winning at least 98 games in three of the last six seasons. Both these clubs are development powerhouses, and they’ll both be good again next year. But here’s the elephant in the room: nobody really knows what the labor situation will look like when the CBA expires on December 1st at 11:59 p.m. ET. A work stoppage is practically guaranteed, and that huge caveat hangs over every offseason move.
So, for the Brewers, the question isn’t just about celebrating their first-ever title, it’s about whether they can keep this winning machine together. For the Rays, it’s about making those critical moves to finally get over the hump and win it all. Both teams are looking to get back to the World Series in 2027, but the path ahead is anything but clear.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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