Brewers fans can't believe how much former starter just earned with Giants

Regarding the Milwaukee Brewers, the talk of the offseason has been whether or not the team will follow their trades of Devin Williams and Corbin Burnes during the previous two offseasons with a trade of their current ace Freddy Peralta this winter. On one side, fans argue that the Brewers trading away their ace after reaching the NLCS is a poor look for a franchise that has yet to secure a World Series title. Proponents of a Peralta trade would respond by saying that the team wouldn't have reached the NLCS in 2025 if they hadn't adopted a sustained success approach that leads them to trade their star players the year before they hit free agency.

Whichever side you fall on, one thing remains clear: the Brewers simply can't afford to construct a roster full of free agents, meaning they must rely on young players who have yet to hit free agency, but have the talent to produce a winning squad. Knowing that they can't afford to pay their stars once free agency hits, Milwaukee elects to turn their star players into these controllable, cheap players who are the foundation of the Brewers' success.

That philosophy, the one that has led the Brewers to seven playoff appearances in the last eight years, but also some difficult departures, has been reinforced this offseason by the steep salaries that free agents are commanding on the market. From Dylan Cease earning a $30 million average annual salary to Edwin Díaz breaking the record for the highest single-season salary for a relief pitcher, the cost of using free agents to fill out a pitching staff has reached a point of absurdity.

One former Brewers' starting pitcher just brought in one of these eye-popping contracts, agreeing to join the San Francisco Giants' starting rotation for the 2026 season, as initially reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Adrian Houser earns two-year, $22 million deal with San Francisco Giants

To be fair, Houser had an impressive career resurgence in 2025. After being released from the Texas Rangers' organization, where he was pitching in Triple-A, in mid-May, Houser joined the Chicago White Sox and was immediately thrust into their starting rotation. After posting a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts on the South Side of Chicago, Houser was traded at the deadline to the Tampa Bay Rays. The now-32-year-old Houser didn't enjoy the same success in Florida as he did with the White Sox, but a 4.79 ERA in 10 starts was still an improvement on the 5.84 mark he posted the season prior as a member of the New York Mets.

Now, Houser is headed west, joining a San Francisco Giants team that is likely to slot him into their starting rotation after giving him a sizable payday. Brewers fans, meanwhile, are stunned that Houser, who was seemingly plateauing as an average depth starter by the end of his tenure in Milwaukee, will now be making $3 million more than Freddy Peralta in 2026.

It's not simply a reflection of the surprisingly healthy free agent market this winter; it's also a testament to the resilience that Houser showed last season. Paired with a high floor, protected by Houser's consistently high ground-ball rate, and a track record of success, maybe it's not surprising that the former Brewer earned a multi-year deal.

Only time will tell how this contract plays out, but for teams searching for veteran starting pitching depth, like the Brewers themselves might be, knowing that a pitcher of Houser's caliber will cost $22 million over the next two seasons, is a harsh reality for cash-strapped clubs like Milwaukee.