MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers struck agreements Thursday with five of their remaining arbitration-eligible players including 2025 club MVP Brice Turang. But for the second straight year they were unable to make a deal with All-Star catcher William Contreras prior to a 7 p.m. CT deadline and now face the possibility of a hearing in the coming weeks.
Five other Brewers players who were eligible for arbitration reached one-year agreements on Thursday to avoid that sometimes thorny process, including second baseman Turang, who was eligible for arbitration for the first time as a “Super Two” player. He will earn $4.15 million in 2026, a source told MLB.com.
Also agreeing to terms were first baseman Andrew Vaughn ($7.65 million), closer Trevor Megill ($4.7 million), reliever Angel Zerpa ($1.095 million) and center fielder Garrett Mitchell ($950,000).
As for Contreras, Thursday’s development doesn’t change anything about the 28-year-old being positioned to be the Brewers’ regular catcher for a fourth straight season in 2026, after he slashed .260/.355/.399 with 17 home runs and started 128 games behind the plate last year. It just means that Contreras’ salary is yet to be determined for what will be his next to last season prior to free agency.
As of Thursday’s deadline, each side knows what the other is ready to defend in a hearing room. Contreras filed at $9.9 million; the Brewers filed at $8.55 million. In the event the case goes all the way to a hearing, representatives for the Brewers and for Contreras will each make the case for their own number in front of a three-member panel of judges. Those judges will then select one figure or the other.
Of course, no rule prevents the sides from continuing to negotiate ahead of a hearing. Take last year, when the Brewers and Contreras could not agree by the exchange date and each filed one-year salary proposals with the league and the MLB Players Association – with Contreras seeking $6.5 million and the Brewers countering at $5.6 million. About three weeks later, they avoided a hearing by agreeing to a $6.1 million contract that paid the star catcher $6 million in 2025 with a $12 million option for ‘26.
After Contreras’ numbers slipped a bit while he played through a painful fractured finger on his glove hand which ultimately required surgery, the Brewers opted to decline that option in November, believing it wiser to set Contreras’ salary via the arbitration process.