Milwaukee

Brewers

One would think the younger Contreras would be Venezuela’s catcher of choice, though that is the team’s deepest position; Salvaldor Perez has been the mainstay for the club, and the country has also produced Gabriel Moreno, Francisco Alvarez, Carlos Narváez and Freddy Fermin. Neither Contreras brother played for the team last time around in 2023. Willson could be the team’s best choice at first if he wants to play this time.

It had earlier been reported that the Brewers were planning to keep Peralta after picking up his $8 million option for 2026. As Rosenthal notes, the Brewers are not dead set on trading Peralta, but if they get a strong enough offer, “they believe the veteran presence of Woodruff and their numerous other rotation options still could leave them in position to contend in the NL Central.” Peralta, who is 29 years old, would bring back a considerable return based on his low salary. If he were to be traded, the Brewers’ rotation would be led by Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, and Quinn Priester, with two of Robert Gasser, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, and Tobias Myers rounding it out. Perhaps the Brewers would bring back another starter in a trade, like trading Peralta to the Red Sox for Brayan Bello and others.

Bukauskas returns to Milwaukee’s bullpen mix after missing the entire 2025 season while recovering from lat surgery. The 29-year-old right-hander owns a serviceable 5.04 ERA across 30 1/3 innings over 33 major-league appearances since 2021. He should be fully healthy entering spring training and will compete for a spot in the Brewers’ season-opening relief corps.

Bauers was a candidate to be non-tendered after slashing just .235/.353/.399 with seven homers and 28 RBI in 218 plate appearances during the 2025 season, but the Brewers will bring him back for another year. He’ll get a nice raise over the $1.35 million that he took home in 2025. Look for Bauers to once again function in a reserve role for the Brewers where he’ll be deployed almost exclusively against right-handed pitching.

A healthy Woodruff seems like a bargain at this rate, especially if his velocity improves some in his second year back from shoulder surgery. Regardless, just the one-year obligation makes this a clear winner. The Brewers are currently looking at a rotation of Freddy Peralta, Woodruff, Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski, with Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and maybe Andy Ashby in the mix for the fifth spot.

Once it’s official, he’ll be put right back on Milwaukee’s roster. We’d say this is great news for the Brewers, though they might look for some additional financial flexibility now. Perhaps trading Freddy Peralta could be back on the table.

Miller forged a .710 OPS in Double-A Biloxi in 2025, and the backstop will likely be there or Triple-A Nashville for the 2026 campaign.

Garcia was once among the top prospects in the Milwaukee system, but has struggled over the past few seasons. He likely will be a depth piece at the higher levels in 2026.

Leonard spent 2022-24 on the 40-man rosters of the Dodgers and then the Tigers, but he never has gotten a chance to play in the majors. The 25-year-old hit .239/.304/.435 with 20 homers and 11 steals for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate last season. The odds are still good that he’ll log some MLB bench time at some point, but a sustained career seems unlikely.

Murphy received 27 of 30 first-place votes, with Terry Francona and Rob Thomson collecting the remaining three to finish second and third, respectively. The Brewers’ skipper earns the honor for the second straight year after guiding Milwaukee to an impressive 97-win campaign. He’s gone 190-134 (.586) during his two seasons at the helm. He’s just the third manager to take home the honor in back-to-back seasons since 1983, joining Bobby Cox and Kevin Cash.