ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Brewers have a tough call coming up with superstar catcher William Contreras, who’s a free agent after next season. While he may well join the many past Brewers stars who left midcareer via trade or free agency, how do you replace a multidimensional catcher who’s shown tremendous value throughout Milwaukee’s great October run?
According to sources, the Brewers offered Contreras a three-year deal with a club option for something in the neighborhood of $35M during the 2025 season. The bid was deemed so low Contreras’ side didn’t bother to counter it, and now that the 28-year-old has put together a monster postseason and is also a year closer to free agency, his price surely is skyrocketing.
Contreras is said to be open to remaining with the Brewers but is believed interested in a much longer deal. The catcher contract comps he’s surely looking at are the $140M the Dodgers gave Will Smith for 10 years before he hit free agency and the five-year, $115.5M for J.T. Realmuto. The small-market Brewers rarely hand out nine-figure deals; MVPs Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun are the only exceptions to reach the $100 million mark.
The Brewers more frequently don’t retain their biggest stars long term, with shortstop Willy Adames and pitchers Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta prime recent examples. Adames left as a free agent, signing for $181M with the Giants, while the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes to the Orioles for DL Hall and Joey Ortiz, and dealt Freddy Peralta to the Mets for Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Burnes wound up signing for $210M over six seasons a year after his trade, and Peralta, now facing Milwaukee in the World Series as a Tampa Bay Ray, appears in line for a contract in the $150M range(link).
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