Brewers: Ranking The 6 Best Contracts in Franchise History
Let’s focus on the positive and break down some great Brewers contracts.
It would be easy to break down the contracts the Milwaukee Brewers took a swing and missed at. Jeffrey Hammonds, Matt Garza and Jeff Suppan roll right off the tongue like orange juice and toothpaste.
But those missteps helped lay the foundation that would eventually bring in David Stearns. The small market team that was basically always in rebuilding mode suddenly became a contender and made blockbuster trades and sneaky signings.
That doesn’t mean that the Brewers never had good contracts before Stearns and owner Mark Attanasio though. Each decade of the Brewers’ 50 plus years had some great signings. Players like George Scott and Larry Hisle coming to Milwaukee in the 1970s helped the Brewers and previous owner Bud Selig first get noticed.
Cut to now, where every year it’s fun to guess which player will come to Milwaukee on a lower contract and years of control and be the new fan favorite.
There are plenty to choose from, but here are six of the best contracts in Brewers franchise history.
Best Contract in Brewers History #6: Aramis Ramirez
Before the 2012 season, the Brewers stole Aramis Ramirez from their rival Chicago Cubs with a three-year, $36MM deal with an option for a 4th year and filling a hole in their roster. They needed a third baseman and another power hitter, and the contract did just that.
In 2012, Ramirez hit .300 with 27 home runs and 105 RBIs. He also led the league with 50 doubles and was a top-five finalist for the NL Gold Glove for third base. Aramis finished ninth in overall MVP voting that season too.
2013 would unfortunately be affected by injuries. He would play in only 92 games, but still finished with a .283 average, 12 home runs and 49 RBIs. His full last year with the Brewers would have similar stats. He ended with a .285 batting average, 15 home runs, and 66 RBIs. The major difference is that Ramirez would be a starter for the All-Star team that year.
In 2015, Ramirez announced that it would be his last season. With the team in selling mode, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July. He would end up starting and ending his career with the same team. Overall, Ramirez would have 65 home runs for the Brewers, a high batting average throughout his time in Milwaukee and an All-Star appearance.
For a team who has had quite a revolving door at third base since Ramirez, grabbing a player like him from a rival team and getting solid years during the last big contract of his career was a great move and signing.
Best Contract in Brewers History #5: Jhoulys Chacin
Before the infamous 2018 season and being a game away from the World Series, Milwaukee signed a starting pitcher that would be key to their season’s success.
Jhoulys Chacin inked a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Brewers and would end his first season with a 3.50 ERA and 15-8 record. He set career highs in wins, strikeouts, and starts in 2018. For less than $8MM a year, the Brewers found a solid starting pitcher when one was needed, one who served as a de facto ace. Primarily a bullpen-oriented team in 2018, Chacin was the perfect pitcher at the perfect time.
Chacin was the starter for Game 163 that season against the Cubs, and he pitched a gem, going 5.2 IP, allowing just one run and putting the Brewers in position to win the NL Central for the first time since 2011.
In Game 2 of the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, he pitched five shutout innings. In Game 3 of the NLCS, He pitched 5.1 shutout innings.
Jhoulys would be selected as the 2019 Opening Day starting pitcher. Besides picking up the win that day, he also hit his first career home run. Unfortunately, injuries would ruin his 2019 and did not have the greatest season. He would eventually be DFA’d in late August and end his Brewers career with a 5.79 ERA on the season.
Chacin is only 34-years-old and currently an active player on the Colorado Rockies. But his contributions and lower salary in 2018 helped the team reach new levels, and will always be considered a great signing for the team even if that second year didn’t go as planned.
Best Contract in Brewers History #4: Jonathan Lucroy
After making his debut in 2010 and having some impressive moments in the 2011 playoff run, Milwaukee locked up their catcher for the foreseeable future.
On March 27th, 2011, Jonathan Lucroy signed a five-year, $11MM extension with the Brewers. Any team that can sign a player with tremendous upside at an important position while still under arbitration/years of control is a great move.
Lucroy would be one of the faces of the team for the next almost five years. After Ryan Braun was suspended for 65 games, Lucroy could be seen on local TV spots and advertising materials. He would also appear in the All-Star Game for the Crew in 2014 and 2016. Paying $11MM for a catcher that would spend almost seven seasons with the team is a giant bargain, especially one with multiple All Star appearances.
In 2016, the Brewers were in basically full-on sell mode. After declining a trade to the Cleveland Indians, Lucroy was eventually traded to the Texas Rangers. The Brewers would receive three players in return, including Lewis Brinson. Brinson would be the centerpiece in the trade with the Miami Marlins that brought Christian Yelich to Milwaukee.
So not only is Lucroy beloved in Milwaukee and took a team-friendly deal, his trade helped bring in the future superstar of the Brewers.
Best Contract in Brewers History #3: Freddy Peralta
It’s the best contract on the Brewers roster as of this moment, but we can’t consider it the best ever yet. We have lots of years left to decide and argue over Christian Yelich’s current contract. We also don’t know what is in store for Brandon Woodruff or Corbin Burnes. Hopefully extensions for both.
But right now, the steal of the century is Freddy Peralta.
A few weeks before the 2020 lockdown and eventual delayed season, Peralta signed a five-year, $15.5MM contract extension. As we sit here now and look at it, the Brewers are geniuses and Peralta almost seems grossly underpaid.
But at the time, Peralta was a promising young pitcher who had some success as a starting pitcher and a reliever. Would he be a solid innings eater in relief? Would he be the new closer someday and take the same path as Josh Hader? Could he still be a starter? His future role was yet to be determined, so signing him to an extension seemed like a big risk given his uncertainty.
But then Peralta broke out in 2021 and proved the Brewers right by betting on him.
After earning the fifth starting spot and the second year of his deal, Peralta posted a 10-5 record and 2.81 ERA. He recorded 195 strikeouts over 144.1 innings pitched in the regular season, and was rewarded with an All-Star appearance and an impressive one at that. In case you forgot, Peralta pitched an entire inning and struck every batter out in that All Star Game.
His Game 3 start against the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 NLDS was a thing of beauty.
Peralta’s contract for the next few years will keep the team competitive and allow room to sign more free agents or offer extensions. At the time, $15.5MM was a lot of money for a young pitcher who was grateful at the chance to pitch and contribute to the team. Now, he is a number three starter on one of the best rotations in baseball.
If Peralta repeats his stats in 2022, this contract is only going to look better and better. Keep in mind, there are two club options for $8MM on Peralta that could keep him in Milwaukee on this contract through the 2026 season.
Best Contract in Brewers History #2: Ryan Braun
Say what you want about Ryan Braun; his scandals and end-of-career nagging injuries, etc. it doesn’t matter. At the time of Braun’s big contract signing, it was and still is a major steal for Milwaukee.
Braun originally signed a seven-year, $45MM extension in 2008. He had just won the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year. But with the window of having Prince Fielder closing on Milwaukee and talks not going anywhere, the team pulled the trigger on the California native after Braun expressed his desire to be a Brewer for life.
He signed a five-year, $105MM extension, and meant Milwaukee would be paying the outfielder over $150MM in his career. Ryan Braun may have officially retired last year, but he will technically be receiving paychecks from Milwaukee until 2031. $18MM of his contract was deferred and still owed to him. Not a bad gig for him at all. It helped the team as well. For a small market team, being able to move money around and sign other players, including another monster deal with Christian Yelich, was great for the team.
You also can’t argue with his logic at the time. During a series of interviews, Brewers fans still remember him saying “What can’t I buy with $105 million?” His willingness to stay in Milwaukee and make the team better will always go down as one of the team’s best contracts. They got an MVP and a new Golden Age in Brewers baseball. That’s well worth the money paid to Braun.
Best Contract in Brewers History #1: Robin Yount
You can’t make a “best” or “greatest” list for the Milwaukee Brewers without including Robin Yount.
Yount would sign his first extension in June of 1978 and would be for five years. His next would be a six-year deal in 1983. You could say his three overall contracts were the best in team history, but his last one came with quite a story.
Before the 1990 season, there was a good chance that Robin Yount would be playing in another uniform. He filed for free agency and was coming off one of his best seasons. Yount and his agent, his brother Larry, were concerned about the team’s best players being up on the trade block and that Robin wanted to play for a winning team.
Teams like the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres had all put great offers on the table for number 19. But Yount would eventually sign a three-year, $9.6MM contract to remain with the Brewers and be the final contract of his career.
That doesn’t seem like a lot now, but $3.2MM a season was the highest season salary anyone in baseball had made yet. His contract was a string of deals that started a salary boom in the 1990s. The Brewers, of all teams, were paving the way for higher-paid players.
The contract wouldn’t result in any World Series wins, but it did cement a legacy in Milwaukee for Yount. He would play his entire career for the Brewers. He would also collect his 3,000th hit during that contract. On September 9th, 1992, Robin became the 17th player to reach 3K hits.
Yount would retire after the 1993 season. He still holds team career records for games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, total bases, walks and so many more.
Yount was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1999, had his number retired and currently part of the Brewers Walk of Fame and Wall of Honor. You can’t think of the Brewers without thinking about Robin Yount, and his final contract was the best thing the team could ask for. You don’t get much better than that.