3 ways the Brewers could trim payroll before the end of the 2025 Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings are in full swing, with this morning bringing news of Kyle Schwarber re-signing with the Philadelphia Phillies and closer Edwin Díaz joining the Los Angeles Dodgers within a matter of minutes. After each of those two big dominoes fell, both of which were holding up their respective markets, it's very possible that a flurry of signings and potentially trades are executed before MLB executives depart Orlando later this week.

When it comes to the Milwaukee Brewers, their needs this winter do not involve shopping in the Schwarber or Díaz markets, as their record-breaking 2025 team is, for the most part, returning for the 2026 season. Additionally, the team's payroll is in a tight spot following the team's decision to extend the $22.025 million qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff, which he accepted last month. While Milwaukee's President of Baseball Operations, Matt Arnold, confirmed that the team doesn't need to shed payroll before Opening Day, in an interview with MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, he did insinuate that if the team wants to make notable external additions this offseason, they may need to execute a move that frees up some money.

Therefore, speculation arose that the Brewers might move Freddy Peralta and his $8 million salary in an effort to create more wiggle room in the payroll. However, such a move would not be made to free up 2026 payroll; Peralta's value far exceeds his 2026 salary, which is one the Brewers can afford to keep on their books, especially after their profitable 2025 season. Rather, the Brewers would move Peralta to acquire players who can impact their roster for several seasons to come, while knowing they can't afford their ace's next contract. Therefore, here are three moves not involving a Peralta trade that Milwaukee could make in the near future to free up payroll.

3 ways the Brewers could trim payroll before the end of the 2025 Winter Meetings

1. Trade closer Trevor Megill

Prior to the first day of the Winter Meetings, trading Megill was simply a move that made sense on paper, and was therefore identified by several writers who cover the Brewers, including Reviewing the Brew's Owen Jonas, as a trade that Milwaukee could entertain this winter. However, after both Joel Sherman of The New York Post and McCalvy of MLB.com reported that Milwaukee has already "fielded calls" for their All-Star closer, the proposition holds far more weight.

With Megill coming off of his best season in MLB thus far and Abner Uribe emerging as a viable candidate to man the closing duties for the Brew Crew in 2026, trading the former, who has two years of team control remaining, makes a great deal of sense this offseason. Interest should be high for the now-32-year-old Megill, who is projected, by MLB Trade Rumors, to make just $4.2 million in his second year of arbitration this offseason. Considering Díaz just earned an average annual salary of $23 million from the Dodgers, the most by any reliever in baseball history, Megill represents a far cheaper alternative to the free agent market this winter, which should not only increase his trade return, but also broaden the amount of teams who could trade for the flame-throwing closer this offseason.

$4.2 million might not seem like a lot of money, even for a small-market club like the Brewers, but that money could be the wiggle room Milwaukee needs to land a notable trade candidate on a reasonable salary or sign an important depth piece to a short-term deal.

2. Sign Andrew Vaughn to a backloaded, short-term extension

Milwaukee could also get creative in trying to shed payroll without trading away one of their key players by restructuring the contracts of some of their more expensive deals heading into the 2026 season. When it comes to expensive contracts, trailing Christian Yelich, Woodruff, Peralta, and William Contreras is the projected arbitration salary of 2025 breakout star Andrew Vaughn. MLB Trade Rumors projects Vaughn to earn a $7.8 million salary this year, but the exact figure won't be known until the arbitration process transpires next month.

Vaughn is under contract for one more season after 2026, as keenly identified by McCalvy during the 2025 regular season, meaning he will otherwise hit free agency after the 2027 season unless Milwaukee chooses to offer him a contract extension. Such a deal should not be struck unless the Brewers truly believe in Vaughn's abilities, but signing him to a three- or four-year deal that keeps him in Milwaukee past his arbitration-eligible years could allow the Brewers to backload the money of his contract to a time when they have less money committed elsewhere on the roster. The Brewers could decrease his 2026 salary to somewhere in the $2-3 million range, saving them $5-6 million on next season's payroll, while electing to pay Vaughn a larger contract when there's more money to go around.

It's certainly not a likely avenue the Brewers take, but the deal could also solve another issue Milwaukee has faced in recent history: their revolving door at first base. Finding some consistency at the cold corner for the next three or four years, while also decreasing the 2026 payroll and giving financial certainty to a player who spent a considerable amount of time in Triple-A last season feels like a win-win, but constructing a deal that makes sense for both sides is far easier said than done.

3. Defer some of Brandon Woodruff's 2026 salary

The least significant means of saving payroll in the near future for the cash-strapped Brewers would be to simply restructure Brandon Woodruff's 2026 salary. Now that Woodruff has agreed to the qualifying offer, he is officially part of the Brewers' 2026 roster, which means the team is free to renegotiate his deal or even agree to a long-term extension with the fan favorite Woodruff.

While a long-term deal doesn't make much sense for the Brewers, given Woodruff's recent injury history, restructuring his 2026 salary to include deferred payments could make sense for both sides. Woodruff's salary of $22.025 million is the highest of any Brewers pitcher in a single season, and even deferring just $5 million of it to a later date could free up the front office to make an impactful move before the 2026 season arrives. The Brewers currently only pay $1.8 million to Ryan Braun and $1 million to Lorenzo Cain in deferred payments, but Cain's payments are up after 2027, while Braun's aren't done until 2031.

Brewers fans are more than excited to have Woody back for the 2026 season, but are worried that his salary will prevent the team from making the necessary moves this offseason. Deferring some of his 2026 salary to another year could be the perfect move that Milwaukee is searching for.