There's no 'off' in offseason during hectic week for World Series champs

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE – If you thought things would slow down for the Brewers now that the World Series is in the rearview mirror, think again. Here’s a recap of a week that showed there’s no such thing as an offseason for the team that goes all the way.

Monday: GM Meetings begin

As executives and agents convened at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Monday for the annual GM Meetings, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold knew the question he will be asked most often.

Is the World Series MVP on the trade block?

“I’m assuming we’ll get this question a lot,” Arnold told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. “But he means a lot to our team.”

“He” means William Contreras, who heads into this offseason in the same contractual position – one year shy of free agency – as was Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Freddy Peralta when the Brewers traded those popular stars for prospects. And the same position, it should be noted, as shortstop Willy Adames when he was not traded going into a contract year in 2024.

Arnold would never declare one way or the other whether he intends to trade a player. So fans have to read between the lines.

“I mean, he’s really special and means a lot to our group,” Arnold said. “You saw what he did in the postseason, how he’s been able to catch 1,000 innings for three years in a row, and Silver Sluggers and All-Star appearances. I don't think we win this championship without William Contreras.”

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrapped up the GM Meetings when they were done and explained why the coming weeks could be particularly busy.

Tuesday: NL Manager of the Year Award

If you needed a reminder that Pat Murphy is one of a kind, you got it on Tuesday evening, when he won his third straight National League Manager of the Year Award – and accepted from a hospital bed.

The Brewers’ baseball-obsessed, 67-year-old, Springsteen-quoting skipper appeared on MLB Network from his bed at Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital following a right hip replacement. Murphy received 20 of 30 first-place votes for his three-peat, beating runner-up Walt Weiss of the Braves and Don Mattingly of the Phillies. Murphy was the only manager to appear on all 30 ballots.

“It’s a constant learning experience,” Murphy said. “You’ve heard my term about how all of us are under construction. That’s real. Those aren’t just words.”

Wednesday: Cy Young Award, MLB Awards Show

So much has happened, in such short order, for the Brewers’ 6-foot-7 unicorn of a pitcher, that it’s worth noting that only 17 months have passed since Jacob Misiorowski stepped foot in the big leagues.

He arrived as a thrower. Now, he’s a pitcher. And he’s a unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner.

Misiorowski on Wednesday became the 17th NL pitcher to win the award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America by a unanimous vote, and second in a row after the Pirates’ Paul Skenes last year. Just like unanimous 2026 American League Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, Misiorowski made it an easy ballot by leading not only NL starters but all Major League starters during the regular season in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), walks plus hits per inning pitched (0.80), strikeouts per nine innings (12.98) and opponents’ average (.157), the last of which made him the most difficult starting pitcher to hit in any full season on record.

“I definitely don’t want to say it was easy. I don’t think anything in the big leagues is easy,” Misiorowski said. “But one of the biggest hurdles to jump was just trusting my stuff and getting past that mental part of the game, and getting over that hump.”

The Cy Young was one of two awards bestowed upon Misiorowski on Wednesday. He was also one of four Brewers players, with Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio and Contreras, named All-MLB at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards. Misiorowski, Turang and Chourio earned First Team honors, and Contreras was recognized on the Second Team.

The Brewers’ four honorees were the most of any team, with their World Series foe, the Rays, coming in second with three.

And Contreras picked up one more honor that night. He was named the inaugural recipient of the “Flow Mayor” Award, and MLB.com’s David Venn explained what that’s about.

Thursday: MVP Award, Contreras attends Latin Grammys

It came as little surprise when Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was the unanimous winner of the NL MVP Award on Thursday, but Turang’s third-place finish was significant in its own right. It showed how far he has come in the past few seasons.

Turang received one second-place vote, five third-place votes, nine fourth-place votes, nine fifth-place votes, two sixth-place votes, two seventh-place votes and two eighth-place votes for a total of 190 points. Turang is the Brewers’ first middle infielder to finish in the top three since Robin Yount won the AL MVP Award at shortstop in 1982.

That same night, Contreras was in the spotlight as well. He and brother Willson Contreras continued adding to their star-studded year by making an appearance at the Latin Grammys at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where performances included the likes of Daddy Yankee and Rosalía and the internationally renowned Roselyn Sánchez hosted.

Friday: Jake Bauers to Boston

Feinsand confirmed a report that Bauers has agreed to a four-year, $58 million contract with Boston after slashing .266/.389/.484 with a team-high 26 home runs for the Brewers during a career year in his age-30 season that extended through a memorable postseason, when he was named the NL Championship Series MVP. The Brewers will miss him, but they won’t come away empty-handed.

Because the Brewers extended Bauers a qualifying offer once he hit free agency, and because Bauers is moving to another club for more than $50 million, the Brewers stand to receive a compensation pick between the end of the first round and the start of Competitive Balance Round A in next year’s Draft.

A couple of years ago when Adames departed under similar circumstances, the Brewers turned the pick into Brady Ebel, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 Brewers prospect and No. 93 overall.

The Brewers would love to turn this opportunity into a similarly talented player. But that’s a matter for another busy week.