3 overlooked front office moves that were key to Brewers' fourth consecutive division title

Year after year, the Milwaukee Brewers are written off in preseason projections, yet they continue to defy expectations. As of Tuesday night, the Brewers have now officially won the National League Central in five of the last six seasons, including each of the past four. No other NL Central squad has won four consecutive division titles in the 32-year history of the division.

Despite the Brewers' incredible sustained success, which has led to eight postseason appearances in the last nine years, the personnel on each of those teams has changed dramatically over the years, with only Brandon Woodruff and Christian Yelich having been a part of each squad. The constant turnover and reshuffling has definitely kept the front office busy, which at the start of this stretch featured David Stearns at the helm, but now has Matt Arnold acting as President of Baseball Operations and General Manager.

While the front office's approach has occasionally been unpopular, particularly when it has involved trading away key players such as Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and Freddy Peralta, it’s difficult to argue with the results. At the same time, the organization has shown a willingness to commit to its young players, with Aaron Ashby, Jackson Chourio, Cooper Pratt, and Luis Lara all signing long-term deals since 2022.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three overlooked moves the front office made this season that helped position the Brewers to once again win the division title in 2026.

3 overlooked front office moves that were key to Brewers' fourth consecutive division title

1. Agreeing to a contract with Jake Bauers

Following the 2024 season, Milwaukee non-tendered Jake Bauers in November, though he ultimately rejoined the organization on a minor league deal before the 2025 campaign. Bauers went on to break camp with the Brewers and showed flashes of production in key stretches, including during the 2025 postseason. Those contributions were enough for the front office to tender him a contract last offseason, signing him to a one-year, $2.7 million deal, which was well above his projected arbitration salary according to MLB Trade Rumors.

While it may not have been the most attention-grabbing move, that contract has proven to be Milwaukee’s most valuable deal of last offseason. Bauers currently leads qualified hitters in the National League with a .394 on-base percentage, while also pacing the Brewers with a career-best 26 home runs. He has also held his own against same-handed pitching, ultimately cementing himself as an everyday contributor at either first base or right field. Without Bauers’ production and versatility, the Brewers’ path to this point in the season would have looked considerably different.

2. Including Shane Drohan in the Caleb Durbin trade

Back in February, the front office swung a six-player trade with the Boston Red Sox. Headliners involved in the deal included Kyle Harrison, who was traded to Milwaukee, and Caleb Durbin, who ended up in Boston. However, Arnold was able to get Craig Breslow to include Shane Drohan, a 27-year-old left-handed starter who had not yet made his MLB debut and was seemingly blocked from being called up given the Red Sox' surplus of pitchers.

In his rookie season, Drohan has excelled in virtually every role the Brewers have asked him to fill, whether as a starter, a multi-inning reliever, or, as he showed last night against the Pirates, a high-leverage option out of the bullpen. Through 30 appearances, including 18 starts, Drohan has thrown 118.2 innings, the second-most on the Brewers, while his 119 strikeouts rank third on the team. His 1.7 fWAR also ranks fifth among rookie pitchers in the National League this season. For a player seemingly included as a "throw-in" in the offseason blockbuster, Drohan has clearly emerged as a crucial part of the team's success.

3. Not trading Logan Henderson

Sometimes, the best move is the one you don’t make. That certainly appears to have been the case this year with Logan Henderson, who was reportedly the pitcher the Brewers’ front office refused to include in a potential Tarik Skubal package at the trade deadline. That unwillingness to part with Henderson has paid off in a big way over the last six weeks.

Henderson is currently riding a streak of 22 consecutive outings to begin his career without allowing three or more runs, putting him just one game behind Zac Gallen’s MLB record. Additionally, Henderson has actually out-pitched Skubal since the deadline. The two have each made 11 starts during that span, with Henderson tossing 65.0 innings while posting a 2.22 ERA, 73 strikeouts, a .171 opponent batting average, and a 0.71 WHIP. Skubal, meanwhile, has logged 71.0 innings with a 2.28 ERA, a .209 opponent batting average, and a 0.96 WHIP. For the Brewers, Henderson’s emergence has only reinforced why they were so reluctant to part with him, and he's stepped up into the No.2 role due to Harrison's struggles.

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