From non-roster invitee to NLCS MVP: Jake Bauers rewarded for series-changing performance

Two years ago, Jake Bauers' major-league career was in question. The then-29-year-old first baseman and corner outfielder was coming off a 2024 campaign during which he posted a .199 batting average, was on the brink of being non-tendered by the Milwaukee Brewers, and didn't know what the future held for him.

According to an excellent piece from Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bauers was very close to retiring after the 2024 season, but ultimately decided to keep playing because he and his family needed health insurance. However, given Bauers' inconsistent 2024 season, landing a major league contract was going to be difficult.

As a result, in need of any opportunity, Bauers elected to return to the Brewers for the 2025 season on a minor league contract. He was invited to big-league Spring Training, but his roster spot was far from guaranteed. With his back up against a wall, Bauers delivered a strong performance during the spring exhibition season and secured a spot on the Brewers' 2025 Opening Day roster.

What followed was another inconsistent campaign for the left-handed slugger, but one that was capped with a strong finish that proved to Milwaukee's front office that Bauers was capable of becoming the player they knew he could be when they traded for him back in November of 2023. Therefore, when it came time to decide whether or not to tender Bauers' a contract for the 2026 season, the decision was easy.

Bauers' strong finish to the 2025 season carried into the 2026 campaign, during which the 31-year-old slugger turned in by far the best performance of his career. Bauers led the Brewers in home runs (26), OBP (.389), and OPS (.873) during the 2026 season, as he established himself as one of the key pieces of the Brewers' record-breaking roster.

Bauers' breakout season certainly didn't stop when the calendar flipped to October. Instead, the Brewers' slugger, whose career was in doubt just two years ago, led the offense during Milwaukee's incredible sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers and was named the NLCS MVP on Thursday night.

Jake Bauers named 2026 NLCS MVP as incredible breakout season continues

The Brewers had a number of candidates for the NLCS MVP. William Contreras' five hits and three RBI certainly had him in the conversation. Garrett Mitchell's homers in Games 3 and 4 made him a candidate. Aaron Ashby's 6.2 scoreless innings and two saves were key to the sweep as well. Even David Hamilton, who played in just two games but collected four hits and scored five runs, had to be considered as well. However, in the end, Bauers was the choice, and it's hard to argue with the impact that he had on Milwaukee's historic sweep.

While Bauers had four hits and six RBI during the NLCS, three of his at-bats stand out as especially series-altering. The first was his 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, which completely shifted the momentum, led to a go-ahead, two-RBI single from Christian Yelich, and ultimately forced the Dodgers' starter out of the game. Then, just a game later, with the Brewers trailing by one run in the top of the seventh, Bauers again worked a long at-bat against Cy Young southpaw Blake Snell before crushing a go-ahead homer on the 11th pitch he saw.

Then, in Game 4 last night, with the Brewers losing by four runs and the momentum seemingly shifting to the Dodgers after Shohei Ohtani crushed a three-run homer in the second inning, Bauers silenced the crowd with a two-RBI, ground-rule double that cut Los Angeles' lead in half. Every time that Bauers came to the plate in a potential momentum-shifting situation, the Brewers' slugger delivered, and for that reason he was the obvious choice to be named NLCS MVP.

It's an incredible career turnaround for Bauers, one that is now validated with an addition to his trophy case. However, Bauers and his teammates know the job is by no means finished, and remain focused on delivering the Brewers' first World Series title in franchise history, as the slugger made clear in his postgame press conference last night. With four wins left to reach the ultimate goal, expect Bauers to continue to play an important role in the Brewers' World Series-bound lineup.

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