Milwaukee Brewers 2020-2021 Complete Offseason Preview

Important Dates

These are some of the more important dates to know for the MLB offseason.

First day after WS ends: Trades are allowed once again and all pending free agents officially file for free agency. There’s a five day window where players are only allowed to negotiate with their team from 2020.

Fifth day after WS ends: This is when free agency officially begins. Players and teams can talk to anyone they want and deals are able to be signed. Although signings rarely experience the kind of rush normally seen in NFL or NBA free agency.

November 20th: This is the deadline for players to be added to the 40 man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft at the end of the Winter Meetings. The additions must be made by 5 p.m. CT.

December 2nd: This is the non-tender deadline. By the end of this day, the Brewers must decide which arbitration-eligible players they will tender contracts to and keep and which ones they will non-tender and let reach free agency.

December 7-10: It’s the best week of the offseason: The Winter Meetings! This year’s Meetings are in Dallas and, should the pandemic allow and big in-person meetings are safe, every team’s front office will be down there at a hotel and this is where a lot of free agent and trade activity takes place.

December 10th: The Rule 5 Draft finishes out the Winter Meetings. This draft is where teams can select players from other teams’ minor league systems and put them on their own big league roster for a small fee. For the Brewers, this will be more likely about not losing any prospects to other teams rather than selecting someone.

January 15, 2021: For all the remaining arbitration-eligible players who have not agreed to a salary for the 2021 season, this is the day they will exchange salary figures with the team and file for their preferred salary.

February 1st, 2021: Arbitration hearings begin across baseball. If the Brewers were not able to agree to terms with any of their arbitration eligible players, it will go to a hearing. The Brewers went to a hearing against Josh Hader last year and won.