2025 Milwaukee Brewers player grades
Here are our Milwaukee Brewers player grades for 2025, based on analysis by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Brewers beat writers Todd Rosiak and Curt Hogg.
The Brewers face a Nov. 21 deadline to offer contracts to seven arbitration-eligible players.Second baseman Brice Turang is eligible for arbitration a year early as a “Super 2” player.The Brewers are expected to tender contracts to all seven players, with no likely non-tenders.
As the Major League Baseball deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players on Friday, Nov. 21 nears, the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively small pool of players to make decisions on.
Within that pool, too, are mostly easy calls to make on who to bring back in 2026, with a group of seven players who all seem likely to receive offers from Milwaukee.
Those tendered contracts enter the salary arbitration process unless the sides come to an agreement on a new deal. Josh Hader (2020), Adrian Houser (2022) and Corbin Burnes (2023) are the only Brewers in recent years who went to hearings.
Here’s a look at the players at hand for the Brewers, with arbitration estimates from MLB Trade Rumors.
No-doubt tendersWilliam Contreras, catcher
Contreras is projected to make $11.1 million after a year in which he hit .260 with 17 home runs and had a .754 on-base plus slugging, a down year statistically but also one in which he battled a fractured finger on his left hand nearly all season.
Trevor Megill, relief pitcher
Megill was a first-time all-star after taking over the closer’s role in 2025. He recorded 30 saves and had a 2.49 ERA before a right flexor strain shut him down late in the season and he returned as a Swiss Army knife for Milwaukee in the playoffs. Megill is projected to make $4.2 million in his second year of arbitration.
Brice Turang, second baseman
Turang qualifies as a “Super 2” arbitration player, meaning he is among the top service time earners among players with fewer than three years of service time, bringing him to arbitration a year early.
Garrett Mitchell, centerfielder
The talent from Mitchell has always been evident but he’s been unable to stay on the field consistently since his debut in 2022, appearing in just 141 games in that time. But at only a projected $1 million, this is a no-brainer for the Brewers.
Likely tendersAndrew Vaughn, first baseman
Vaughn’s performance with the Brewers – a .308 average, .839 OPS and nine homers – indicates an easy call for the team. The price tag (a projected $7.8 million) and an uneven prior track record of performance keeps it from being a guarantee.
Nick Mears, relief pitcher
At $1.6 million, the Brewers will likely keep Mears, who served as a middle reliever in the “A” bullpen for much of the year, but he also experienced some volatility with his velocity and ability to generate swings and misses.
Jake Bauers, first baseman
A strong finish to the year for Bauers means he’ll likely be back in 2026, his third year with Milwaukee in a part-time role. The Brewers value his swing decisions and first-base defense. It would make sense for the Brewers to roll out a Vaughn/Bauers platoon next year, but they could theoretically find some savings if they choose to go with only one of them.
Likely non-tenders
None.