MILWAUKEE -- Mike Moustakas and Joakim Soria will take their chances on the open market.
Both midseason acquisitions of the Brewers -- Moustakas a third baseman and Soria a relief pitcher -- declined their half of mutual options on Tuesday and hit the free-agent market. Moustakas turned down $15 million, and Soria declined $10 million.
The Brewers gave up outfielder Brett Phillips and pitcher Jorge Lopez to get Moustakas from the Royals on July 27, knowing it could be a rental. Moustakas had hoped to sign a multi-year contract last winter, but instead returned to the Royals on a one-year deal with an option when the market didn't cooperate. He hit .251 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs between the Royals and Brewers in the regular season. He posted a .256/.326/.441 line in 54 games after the trade before going 8-for-40 in the postseason.
Moustakas' signature moment in a Milwaukee uniform came in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Rockies, when he delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning that sent the Brewers on their way to a sweep.

Soria, 34, played a significant role in the September surge that earned the Brewers the NL Central title, then made three scoreless appearances in the NLDS before running into trouble in the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. His 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings in the regular season represented the second-best rate of his Major League career, which began in 2007, so Soria may be seeking another multiyear contract in free agency.

The decisions left the Brewers with two club options remaining before Friday's 4 p.m. CT deadline. Reliever Jeremy Jeffress' contract includes a $3.175 million club option for 2019 that looks like a no-brainer for the Brewers to pick up, despite his problems in the postseason. He was one of MLB's most dominant relief pitchers during the regular season, ranking second among relievers with a 1.29 ERA, tied for 11th in appearances and 15th in wins above replacement.
If the Brewers decline for some reason, Jeffress would be arbitration eligible, though a projection from the website MLB Trade Rumors predicted a salary above the option.

Swingman Jordan Lyles' deal has a $3.5 million club option with a $250,000 buyout. Lyles, who turned 28 the day of NLCS Game 6, was used sparingly by the club after being claimed off waivers from the Padres on Aug. 5. He logged a 3.31 ERA in 11 games spanning 16 1/3 innings before being left off the NLDS and NLCS rosters, and might have made his most memorable contribution at the plate.
It was Lyles' two-out walk on Aug. 24 against the Pirates at Miller Park that extended the Brewers' half of the 15th inning for Erik Kratz's tying, two-run single and Orlando Arcia's walk-off hit. Lyles scored the winning run to finish a wild game. But it's his pitching that will determine the Brewers' strategy with the club option.

Pitchers Giovany Gonzalez and Wade Miley and outfielder Curtis Granderson became free agents on Monday morning, and the Brewers used one of those 40-man roster openings to add outfield prospect Tyrone Taylor, who hit 20 home runs with an .825 OPS at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The Brewers have exclusive negotiating rights with their trio of free agents until 4 p.m. on Friday, which is also the deadline to extend free agents a $17.9 million qualifying offer. Gonzalez and Granderson are ineligible for such an offer because they were traded during the season, and the Brewers are unlikely to extend one to Miley, though it remains possible that they try to re-sign him.