What Are The Brewers Arbitration Projections For 2023?

The majority of the Milwaukee Brewers active roster find themselves going through arbitration this winter. In total, 18 Brewers are arbitration-eligible this winter and there are only 26 active roster spots.

Payroll has been going up and up the last few years for the Brewers, yet the team hasn’t been getting much better on the whole. The reason for that is the sheer number of players the Brewers have that are arbitration eligible.

MLB Trade Rumors released their annual arbitration projections. Here’s what the Crew’s players are projected to earn next year with their 2022 salary in parentheses.

The Brewers have 18 players going through arbitration for the 2023 season. What are their projected salaries for next year?

Corbin Burnes – $11.4MM projected ($6.5MM in 2022)

Corbin Burnes followed up his 2021 Cy Young winning campaign with another stellar season, leading the league in strikeouts with 243, posting a 2.94 ERA in 202 IP, and a 0.96 WHIP while making all 33 starts.

That’s going to earn him another hefty bump, with a projected near-doubling of his salary up to $11.4MM. That’s a raise of nearly $5MM, and these are just projections so it could even be more than this.

It could also turn into a lot more money for Burnes if the Brewers decide to pursue a contract extension and sign him to one. His salary is only going to go up and up from here, and this projected salary is still a bargain.

Hunter Renfroe – $11.2MM projected ($7.65MM)

Hunter Renfroe had a good first season in Milwaukee. He performed about as expected, providing excellent defense in right field and supplying a lot of power from the right side of the plate. Renfroe slugged 29 homers and hit a solid .255, which was the best batting average among the Brewers regulars.

He’s earned yet another solid raise heading into his final year of arbitration eligibility. After the 2023 season, Renfroe will be a free agent.

With such a high salary, even though Renfroe has been productive and a quality player, perhaps he could be a trade candidate this winter.

Brandon Woodruff – $11MM projected ($6.8MM)

After a sluggish start, Brandon Woodruff bounced back and put together another spectacular season on the mound. Woodruff had a 3.05 ERA in 153.1 IP with 190 strikeouts.

Woodruff and Burnes are projected at similar salaries as the co-aces have both dominated the last few years, although Woodruff is entering his third year of arbitration and Burnes is going into his second. Woodruff is a Super Two player.

Again, the price for Woodruff could be higher than this, especially if the Brewers work out a contract extension with him.

Brewers arbitration salary projections for 2023

Devin Williams – $3.2MM projected ($714,500)

Brewers closer Devin Williams is entering his first season of arbitration. As the freshly installed closer with only 18 career saves to his name, he’s not likely to get paid like the All Star reliever that he is. Josh Hader didn’t rack up many saves in his pre-arb years, which led to a nasty arbitration hearing between the two sides.

Williams already had his contract “renewed” for 2022 as a symbol of his displeasure of his pre-arb salary offer. You’ll notice that $714,500 salary for last year is just $14,500 above league-minimum. For a player that won Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year in 2020 and had clearly become one of their most trusted arms.

Williams gets a nice raise here, and his salary will only continue to grow, but it’s $10MM lower than Josh Hader’s projected $13.6MM salary for next year.

Brent Suter – $3.1MM projected ($2.7MM)

It’s another slight salary bump for the longest tenured Brewers player. Brent Suter is entering his final year of arbitration and the 33 year old had a solid 2022 season. He finished with a 3.78 ERA in 66.2 IP.

Suter is a trusted and reliable arm for Craig Counsell out of the bullpen and an important leader in the clubhouse. He’ll most likely be brought back on this salary, get a nice raise, and fill his role out of the bullpen.

Victor Caratini – $2.8MM projected ($2MM)

For a while, Victor Caratini was an unsung hero on this Brewers roster. He ended up getting the most of the catching platoon between him and Omar Narvaez, even after only being acquired the day before Opening Day. Caratini ended the first half hitting .244/.362/.441 with an .803 OPS.

However, the second half was not so kind, as Caratini hit just .159 down the stretch with a paltry .479 OPS. Caratini finished the season with a .199 batting average and a .642 OPS.

Still, he’s entering his final year of arbitration before free agency and he provides value as a defensive catcher, putting up a 0.6 bWAR on the year. With Omar Narvaez also coming off a down year and entering free agency, it’s likely Caratini is brought back, even with his poor second half.

Matt Bush – $2MM projected ($825k)

The Brewers acquired Matt Bush at the deadline and part of what attracted them to him was that he still had two more years of arbitration remaining. He wasn’t able to replicate his success he was having with the Rangers when he joined the Brewers, however. He ended up with a 4.30 ERA in 23 games for Milwaukee.

While not as good as hoped for, Bush wasn’t a complete disaster and they do love his stuff. Perhaps not having to move teams midseason and now having some time to adjust to his new team will help Bush have a rebound performance in 2023. Combined with his Rangers stats, Bush had a 3.47 ERA this year, which is deserving of a nice raise to a few million bucks.

Keston Hiura – $2MM projected ($705,100)

Keston Hiura’s case will be one of the most interesting ones to watch this offseason. Will they trade him? Will they keep him? Will they non-tender him at this price? The Brewers didn’t really give Hiura much run as a regular starter, especially against right-handed pitching.

This is the first year of arbitration for Hiura. There are clear issues with his performance, both offensively and defensively. But, he’s got 50 home runs to his name already, with double-digit homers in three of his four big league seasons and he posted a 115 OPS+ in 2022.

Hiura will see a nice little bump in pay, but will the Brewers be willing to be the ones to pay it. Time will tell as the offseason unfolds.

Brewers arbitration salary projections for 2023

Trevor Gott – $1.4MM ($725,000)

The Brewers signed Trevor Gott on the first day free agency opened last year. For much of the year, he made it clear why Milwaukee targeted him. However, he struggled towards the end of the year and did deal with some injuries.

Gott ended the year with a 4.14 ERA in 45.2 IP and likely proved himself worthy of coming back for another year in the Brewers bullpen. Especially at such a modest price tag, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him brought back.

Mike Brosseau – $1.2MM ($706,300)

Mike Brosseau filled a niche role on the Brewers in 2022, hitting mostly against lefties. He ended the year with a .255/.344/.418 slash line but had just 141 at-bats. He missed some time with an ankle injury but was mostly a bench bat for Milwaukee.

This is the first year of arbitration for Brosseau and he sees a modest raise. He’s never been much of an everyday player. His 141 ABs were just nine behind his career high of 150 ABs he had with Tampa Bay in 2021.

Still, when Brosseau does play, he does a pretty good job. With Jace Peterson hitting free agency this winter, the Brewers could turn to Brosseau as the regular super utility guy and that will turn into a lot more at bats for Brosseau.

Hoby Milner – $1.1MM ($705,100)

Hoby Milner has turned himself into a reliable reliever for the Brewers, even earning some high leverage spots. He finished with a 3.76 ERA in 64.2 IP with 64 strikeouts and just 15 walks.

Milner is a solid lefty reliever that gives hitters a completely different look with his sidearm arm slot. He’s finally entering arbitration for the first time in his career and will turn 32 years old before next season.

2022 was Milner’s first year as a regular in a big league bullpen. He was up and down with the Brewers in 2021, throwing 19.2 IP for them. Prior to his 64.2 IP this year, Milner’s big league career high was 31.1 IP with the Phillies his rookie year in 2017.

Luis Perdomo – $1MM ($700,000)

The Brewers signed Perdomo to a two-year minor league contract before the 2021 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery and they knew he would miss all of 2021, planning for him to be an option for them in 2022.

Perdomo continued to struggle with health in 2022 and was up and down between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville. He ended up pitching in just 14 games for the Brewers, covering just 23.2 IP with a 3.80 ERA.

He was mostly used in mop up duty and sometimes even struggled with that. While this projected price tag is modest, the decision on Perdomo’s return to Milwaukee next year will rely less on money and more on his performance this year and whether the Brewers see him as an option they want for their bullpen in 2023.

Jandel Gustave $900,000 projected ($700,000)

The Brewers put Jandel Gustave on the IL at the beginning of August with forearm discomfort and there wasn’t much for updates after that. While it could be a serious injury, or it could just be somewhat minor, the Brewers didn’t seem to be in a hurry to bring him back.

In 27 appearances this year, Gustave had a 3.86 ERA. He wasn’t bad, but he’s someone that’s barely hanging on to his roster spot and the Brewers may simply cut bait, regardless of what his price tag may be.

However, because his projected salary is so low, the Brewers might be willing to bring him back and see what happens. They can always cut bait with him later if he struggles. But if his injury is more serious than we’re currently aware, it would make more sense to let him go.

If the Brewers bring back all of these players at their projected salaries, it would represent a $34.5MM increase in payroll heading into 2023. In all likelihood, not all of these players will be back, and they’ll come to terms on salaries with some that’ll be higher than projected and some that’ll be lower. But the majority of this roster is arbitration eligible, and payroll is getting tighter. Tough decisions will have to be made once again.