Brewers veteran may have just called out ownership when it comes to William Contreras

While Milwaukee Brewers fans have long had to deal with owner Mark Attanasio's relative "thriftiness" compare to other MLB owners, it only recently has started to earn him some real ire on a national scale. His latest comments to the media where he heavily implied that his job was to provide entertainment and not necessarily to try and win a World Series went over extremely poorly and now there is actual pressure on the Brewers to stop sitting on their hands.

At this point, there is little chance that the uproar will press Milwaukee into making any impact moves before the 2025 season because, well, there are not really any impact moves to make left. The only free agents still available aren't overly exciting to put it kindly and getting a significant trade done during spring training is not easy. However, one player that is starting to be a topic of conversation is Brewers catcher William Contreras.

Milwaukee was extremely fortunate to acquire Contreras to begin with and now that he has become one of the best catchers in baseball, calls have grown for the Brewers to try and keep him around for the long haul. Count backup catcher Eric Haase among those that agree with that course of action as he recently told the media that paying Contreras is something the Brewers should do.

Eric Haase advocated for paying William Contreras while taking a bit of a dig at the Brewers

Haase's comments were specifically in response to Contreras' deal to avoid arbitration this year, but his stance was crystal clear. After talking at length about how good Contreras was on both sides of the ball and his growth, Haase went out of his way to say, "He deserves it. Pay the man. You have to pay somebody. Why not pay one of the best guys in baseball?”

Most Brewers fans would agree with Haase here. Contreras is a cornerstone of the Brewers' roster and any team should work to keep a player of his caliber around for the long haul. However, Haase's phrasing of "Pay the man. You have to pay somebody" feels extremely pointed given the current discourse around Milwaukee's spending or lack thereof.

Haase also is 100% right here. At some point, the Brewers are going to have to loosen the purse strings a bit if they want to remain competitive. Yes, Milwaukee has made their current payroll situation work in the form of playoff appearances, but that may not be sustainable as player costs continue to go up and more people become skeptical of the Brewers commitment to winning. No one thinks the Brewers should spend like the Dodgers, but why would any self-respecting player of note want to play for an organization that won't actually commit to competing and keeping their best players around.

Time will tell if anything is going to change here. Contreras is under team control through 2027 and discussion of an extension for him will continue until there are indications one way or the other. However, one hopes that this growing chorus of voices calling on Attanasio to actually invest in the Brewers' roster, including their own players, can finally get through.

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