Early returns on Brewers’ 2025-26 offseason free agent signings are promising

The Milwaukee Brewers are off to a brilliant start in 2026, thanks in part to all of the offseason acquisitions Matt Arnold brought in. David Hamilton is in the midst of a career breakout at the plate, Kyle Harrison is finally living up to his top prospect pedigree, and Ángel Zerpa looks the part of a high-leverage reliever.

However, it's worth putting a spotlight directly on the free agents the team signed in particular. There weren't many -- Gary Sánchez, Luis Rengifo, and Akil Baddoo (injured list) are the only ones on the 40-man roster -- but the two that are actively playing in Milwaukee have made a big impact thus far.

Gary Sánchez revives The Kraken while Luis Rengifo provides Brewers steady support at hot corner

Perhaps the biggest story surrounding the team right now is the revival of The Kraken. Sánchez became something of a cult hero in Milwaukee in 2024, and he's right back to being a big-time producer this year after a one-year stop in Baltimore.

The 33-year-old backstop has only played in five games thus far, but his contributions have been enormous. He's hitting .308/.438/1.000, good for a .586 wOBA and 281 wRC+. Three of his four hits have been home runs, and he's managed to walk three times to offset six strikeouts.

As you might expect, all of his contact quality metrics are off the charts. His xwOBA (.534) and xSLG (.917) somehow back up his ridiculous stats, and he'd be leading the league in average exit velocity (99.6 mph) and barrel rate (42.9%) if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. He'll never be an everyday starter on this team thanks to the presence of William Contreras, but he's already gotten into games at first base, designated hitter, and catcher. If his bat remains anywhere close to this hot, Pat Murphy may have to invent a new position to keep him in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Rengifo isn't dominating in quite the same fashion, but he's been a solid all-around contributor as the primary starter at third base. He's hitting .214/.267/.357 through his first 30 plate appearances, and though the 29-year-old struck out twice in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox, he's improved on his walk, strikeout, and whiff rates so far this year.

Perhaps most importantly, he's providing solid defense at the hot corner. He'd contributed -18 Outs Above Average there in his career prior to 2026, but so far, he's been a league-average defender, a huge improvement. If he can keep this up -- Matt Erickson has worked hard to get Rengifo to this point -- the Brewers should be properly covered, at least until the trade deadline.

All in all, this past offseason appears to have been yet another masterclass from Matt Arnold.