It won’t be a cheap run through the arbitration ringer for the Brewers this winter. They’re likely to pay the quartet of William Contreras, Trevor Megill, Brice Turang and Andrew Vaughn somewhere between $25 million and $30 million in 2026, and that’s despite all four having at least one more year of eligibility for arbitration after this. Jake Bauers, whose much-improved performance in 2025 should make him safe at this year’s non-tender deadline, is in line to make another $2 million or so.

Milwaukee will certainly tender contracts to all four of their major contributors who are eligible. Bauers is a trickier case, because even though he was so good this year and will cost relatively little in 2026, he can no longer be sent to the minor leagues. For an organization that prizes and always needs flexibility in its roster construction, having a non-regular locked into one of the scarce bench spots all season might be an uneasy situation. Still, those five all clearly deserve to be back with the three-time defending NL Central champions.

Garrett Mitchell is also eligible for arbitration this winter, for the first time. He’s set to make even less than Bauers and can still be optioned to the minors, if needed. He poses a different kind of problem for a team concerned with roster utility, though. Mitchell has only played 139 total games since the start of 2023, including his stints in the minors on rehab assignments. His inability to stay healthy (and the very real questions about how he can bounce back from a second devastating shoulder injury in as many years) makes it just as risky to lock him into a spot on the 40-man roster for a should-be contender as to do so with a 26-man roster spot for Bauers.

Unlike Mitchell, Nick Mears is out of options, so he, too, damages the flexibility of the roster if the team tenders him a deal Friday. He’s set to make roughly $1.6 million via arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors. That’s not a prohibitive amount of money, but again, the most important question is whether he’s a pitcher worth committing a place on the active roster to for the whole season. One can make compelling cases in favor or against him.

Thus, Mitchell and Mears will be the names most worth watching Friday. The Brewers are likely to press each to agree to terms now, rather than tendering them a deal and letting the deadline to exchange figures (on Jan. 8, 2026) apply the pressure. Since these are fringe cases, each player will have to be willing to sign on terms the Brewers consider palatable, or they’re likely to be released. 

In years past, this has often been a day when the Brewers would target a player another team was considering cutting and acquire them in trade. That’s far less likely this year, with Milwaukee’s 40-man roster quite crowded as it is—but it’s not impossible. Nor is it out of the question that we might see the team agree to a multi-year deal with one of Contreras, Megill or Vaughn, taking them through 2027. Between those more remote possibilities and the very real one that we see either Mitchell or Mears traded or released, Friday will be an interesting day for Brewers fans.Â