4 Milwaukee Brewers Most Likely to be Non-Tendered by Friday's Deadline

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1. 1B Rowdy Tellez ($5.9MM projected arbitration salary)

The most likely player to be non-tendered by the Brewers is sadly one of the biggest fan favorites on the list in first baseman Rowdy Tellez. And it has just as much to do with his play over the past couple years as it does with his potential price tag.

Tellez stormed on to the scene when the Crew acquired him in 2021, slashing .272/.333/.481 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 56 games. And though he kept the power numbers up in 2022 (35 homers, 89 RBIs), he saw his entire slash line decrease, a trend that continued into 2023.

Injuries added to Tellez's woes this season, limiting him to 105 games and an unsightly .215/.291/.376 slash line with just 13 homers and 47 RBIs. Non-tendering him would leave the Brewers in a tough spot at the position going forward as he's pretty much the only true first baseman left on the roster, but with the production he's put up lately, it would be hard for Milwaukee to justify his projected salary.

2. OF Tyrone Taylor ($1.7MM projected)

Another player who hasn't quite produced as expected over the years is outfielder Tyrone Taylor. However, his potential non-tender isn't related as much to his numbers as it is to the state of the position in Milwaukee's system.

That's not to say Taylor's production couldn't have been better up to this point. In 331 games across five seasons, he's slashed just .239/.294/.451 for his career while accumulating just 4.5 bWAR. Even with a blazing hot end to the 2023 season, he still finished the year batting .234 with a below average 91 OPS+ due to an extremely cold start.

At some point, the Brewers may have to accept that Taylor is already at his ceiling. If that is the case, they have six other outfielders on the roster, not to mention young phenom Jackson Chourio who will eventually be added, who should command the majority of the playing time going forward. Even at an affordable price, a non-tender would help clear space for future offseason moves.

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