Brewers history: Milwaukee signs Cardinals’ 2006 NLCS MVP in Christmas Eve splurge

The winter holiday season falls right in the middle of the MLB offseason, and as a result, free agent signings and trades occasionally occur on Christmas or Christmas Eve, giving baseball fans presents they didn't expect. The Milwaukee Brewers are no stranger to signing a free agent or swinging a trade in the days leading up to Christmas. Back in 2023, they received an early Christmas present in the form of Coleman Crow, who was added to the 40-man roster earlier this offseason, and the payroll space they opened up by sending Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor to the New York Mets in a December 20th trade.

For the most part, Milwaukee's front office has been quiet on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in recent history. However, nearly two decades ago, it was on December 24 that the Brew Crew made one of their most infamous free agent signings of the 21st century.

The year was 2006, and the Brewers still hadn't been back to the postseason since their 1982 AL-pennant-winning run. With a group of young position players that included Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, and JJ Hardy, climbing through their farm system, it appeared as if that streak was finally going to come to an end. However, with a starting rotation in which Ben Sheets was the only real bright spot, the Brewers needed to make an addition during the offseason if they wanted any chance of reaching the postseason in 2007.

On Christmas Eve 2006, they signed 32-year-old Jeff Suppan to a four-year, $42 million deal, in what they believed would be the move to get them over the hump and bring October baseball back to Milwaukee. Not only was Suppan a reliable innings-eater throughout his first 12 seasons in MLB, which included stops in five different organizations, but he was coming off of a 2006 postseason during which he posted a 2.49 ERA in 25.1 innings, was named the NLCS MVP, and played an important part in the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series championship.

It was certainly an aggressive move from Doug Melvin and the Brewers' front office, handing $42 million to a starting pitcher on the wrong side of 30 back in 2006, but it was the type of move fans often call for, especially after a prolonged period of losing, simply to signal that their team cares about being competitive. Unfortunately, that aggression from Milwaukee's front office didn't pay off, and Suppan's Brewers tenure became one of the most disappointing in recent franchise history.

December 24 2006: Brewers shell out $42 million to Jeff Suppan, kick-starting what became a disappointing tenure in Milwaukee

Expectations were understandably very high for Suppan. Not only was he coming off an NLCS MVP performance for the Brewers' biggest rivals, but he also was one of Milwaukee's highest-profile free agent signings of the early 2000s. Alongside Sheets and 2007 rookie Yovani Gallardo, Brewers fans were hoping Suppan would be the missing piece that Milwaukee was searching for in their rotation.

However, in his first season in a Brewers uniform, Suppan posted a lackluster 4.62 ERA in 34 starts, looking more like a league-average starter than the X-factor the Milwaukee faithful were expecting. Paired with the fact that the Brewers finished 2nd in the NL Central and missed out on the postseason by just two games, Suppan's performance was especially disappointing. Little did Brewers fans know, though, 2007 was the best it would be for Suppan in Milwaukee.

In 2008, the now-33-year-old posted a 4.96 ERA in 31 starts, but Milwaukee still managed to qualify for the postseason, thanks in large part to the fact that the front office added another starter, a guy by the name of CC Sabathia, to the rotation because Suppan wasn't giving them the performance they expected. When the postseason rolled around, the Brewers avoided using Suppan for the first three games of their NLDS match-up with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, by Game 4, the Brewers needed Suppan, and with their season on the line, he surrendered three homers and five earned runs in three innings. The Brewers ended up losing the game 6-2, and their memorable 2008 campaign came to an end.

With optimism dwindling, Suppan returned for his third season in Milwaukee in 2009, hoping for a different outcome, but things only got worse. This time, his ERA eclipsed the 5.00 mark, finishing at 5.29 following Suppan's 30 starts in 2009. The Brewers missed the postseason, but the veteran right-hander still had one more year left on his free agent contract. Milwaukee stuck with him for the first two months of the 2010 season, converting him to a long-relief role, where things didn't get much better for Suppan. Finally, on June 7, 2010, the Brewers released Suppan, ending what was a very disappointing stint in Milwaukee.

It's an excellent reminder of the risk involved with signing free agents in MLB. Often the players agreeing to free agent deals are at the tail-end or even past their prime, and the money they bring in seldom matches the value they produce throughout their contract. Yes, a fearful mentality in which teams never sign players to long-term deals won't work either (just look at the Pittsburgh Pirates), but a cautious and opportunistic approach like the one Milwaukee's current front office has adopted acknowledges this risk and hedges against it by filling their roster with players who have yet to reach free agency, often trading players destined for free agency in the near future for controllable talent.