Brewers: 5 Players the Team Could Non-Tender at the Deadline

The Milwaukee Brewers have another opportunity to shape their roster for the 2023 season this Friday. That is the deadline for MLB teams to tender contracts to players not currently signed to one for 2023.

The Brewers have a whopping 18 arbitration eligible players on the 40-man roster. They also have over a dozen more on the roster who are in the pre-arbitration stage of their careers. All of them will require decisions from Milwaukee as to whether they will tender a contract or not.

A majority of those players are a lock to be tendered but not all of them. Some could find themselves as free agents after Friday if the Brewers decide that the cost to retain doesn't outweigh the need to open up roster spots to improve the roster elsewhere. So who could fall into that category?

Here are four players the Brewers could non-tender at Friday's deadline.

1. C Victor Caratini

As it stands, Victor Caratini is now the most experienced catcher on the Brewers' roster. The honor used to go to three-year starter Omar Narvaez, but he became a free agent when the offseason began. Still, that doesn't necassarily mean Caratini's spot is safe.

In his first year as a Brewer, Caratini started off well enough offensively. But he struggled hard in the second half and finished with just a .199/.300/.342 slash line over 95 games. Since a solid season with the Cubs in 2019, he has seen a general decline in his offensive numbers over the following years.

Caratini has one year of control remaining and is projected to make $2.8MM next season, which is a lot for a subpar offensive catcher. Milwaukee could decide to non-tender him and instead go with an external option, such as one of the catchers the Blue Jays reportedly have on the block or a free agent that makes sense like Christian Vazquez.

4. RHP Trevor Kelley

And we're back to the bullpen. We're also back to another 30-year-old reliever in the form of Trevor Kelley. Despite his age, the 2015 36th rounder has only made a combined 32 appearances in his major league career.

After a strong start to 2022 down at Triple-A Nashville, Kelley was one of the earlier call-ups to the big league squad in mid-May. Things went much differently for him as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, however.

In 23.2 innings, Kelley would compile a 6.08 ERA, second highest on the team of anyone to pitch more than 10 innings, as well as a 1.437 WHIP. On top of that, he gave up seven home runs, giving him 2.7 home runs per nine innings, the most of any Brewer to pitch more than 10 innings.

Like Jackson, Kelley is pre-arbitration eligible and would be of minimal cost to retain. He was also one of the worst performers in last year's bullpen and easily replaceable with an upgrade if the Brewers decide to go that route.

5. RHP Trevor Gott

Yet another 30-year-old reliever who could face a potential non-tender by the Brewers is right-hander Trevor Gott, who the Crew signed as their first free agent last offseason. He ended up being a key part of their bullpen for a good part of the season.

Gott's 45 appearances were the fifth most of any Brewers reliever in 2022. He would often combine with Boxberger to help bridge the gap to the tandem of Devin Williams and Josh Hader to close things out.

Gott would keep his ERA in the low threes for the first few months before hitting a rough patch along with a late injury. He would finish the season with a 4.14 ERA and 1.029 WHIP.

In his second year of arbitration, Gott is projected to make $1.4MM, placing a higher value on him than the other two relievers on this list. Considering the trust the Brewers had in him early last year, he's easily the least likely of anyone here to catch a non-tender, but it also wouldn't be impossible to happen.

Odds are one or two players will be non-tendered as it usually happens to at least someone on the Brewers each year. After Friday, we'll know who meets that unfortunate fate.