Milwaukee

Brewers

Misiorowski is the overwhelming favorite to take home the hardware after establishing himself as the most dominant starter in baseball, forging a microscopic 1.80 ERA (2.12 xERA), 0.80 WHIP and 252/44 K/BB ratio across 174 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old flamethrower recorded 10 double-digit strikeout performances and allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but two of his 30 starts. Sale continued his remarkable late-career renaissance in Atlanta, delivering another stellar campaign with a 2.16 ERA (2.97 xERA), 0.98 WHIP and 200/31 K/BB ratio across 162 2/3 innings over 27 starts. He would have been the choice in just about any other season, but Misiorowski made the leap from hard-throwing phenom to an outright force of nature.

Murphy is a finalist for the third consecutive season after guiding Milwaukee to their first World Series title in franchise history. Mattingly is a worthy inclusion after taking over as Philadelphia’s skipper and propelling the club back to the postseason. Weiss won 94 games in his first season at the helm for Atlanta, his first season as a big-league manager since 2016.

Both will become free agents. Koenig had a 2.67 ERA in 128 innings for the Brewers between 2024 and ’25, but he dealt with elbow issues early last season and pitched just seven innings in the majors before being sent down in mid-July, never to return. That his velocity was down about two mph in the minors surely played a role in him going unclaimed, but it’s a little surprising no one was willing to commit to a 40-man spot for him.

Baddoo hit .224/.305/.369 with 28 homers in 1,143 plate appearances for the Tigers from 2021-25. He was in the running for a bench job in Milwaukee last spring, but he suffered a strained quad in March and missed two months. He was sent down once healthy and hit .252/.342/.469 with 11 homers and seven steals in 64 games for Triple-A Nashville. If they keep him on the 40-man, the Pirates will give him a chance to win a bench spot in spring training.

Contreras will receive $15.5 million, which is exactly what he made the last two years combined ($6.1 million and $9.4 million). He’ll be eligible for free agency for the first time next winter. That’s led to some speculation that the Brewers could trade him. Most, though, would probably prefer that they try to run it back.

The option, coming at the end of a five-year, $50.5 million deal he did with the Rockies after the 2021 season, was worth $14 million. He won’t come close to that in free agency, but he will draw ample interest after reinventing himself as a reliever.

Sánchez got a World Series ring after hitting .209/.349/.422 in 275 plate appearances as Willson Contreras’s backup and an occasional DH against lefties last season. The Brewers might have some interest in bringing him back, but they did acquire Bo Naylor at the trade deadline as a potential replacement.

It’s extremely rare to see a qualifying offer accepted, but Bauers could wind up deciding to take it. It’s only happened 18 times out of 157 players to receive one since the system was first implemented back in 2012. The 31-year-old was a key cog in Milwaukee’s incredible World Series title run, taking home NLCS MVP honors after hitting .413 with one homer and six RBI during a sweep of the defending champion Dodgers. He finished as a top-10 first baseman for fantasy purposes this past season, hitting .266/.389/.484 with 93 runs scored, a career-high 26 home runs, 86 RBI and 11 steals in 578 plate appearances. He’ll have plenty of potential destinations if he decides to take his talents elsewhere.

Megill has one more year of team control under arbitration and then will be a free agent. Typically, that has been when the Brewers look to facilitate a trade if they don’t feel that they can afford to re-sign a player when they enter free agency. Since Abner Uribe is under team control through the 2030 season, the Brewers have a built-in replacement if the team does decide to make a deal.

Aaron Ashby, who also had a great case for NLCS MVP honors, again gets snubbed here. Cooper Pratt and Jackson Chourio both had better offensive series than Contreras, but the catcher does deserve credit for his four caught stealings and his great success challenging pitches. He was also the Brewers’ best hitter overall this postseason, finishing with a 1.036 OPS, three homers and nine RBI in 13 games.