Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Candidates to Get the Team's Next Contract Extension

Prior to recent days, the chances of seeing the phrases "Milwaukee Brewers" and "unprecedented contract extension" in the same sentence would have been extremely rare, to say the least. Yet, here we are.

The Brewers stunned the baseball world when they finalized a contract extension with team's top prospect, and the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, Jackson Chourio. At eight years and $82MM plus contract options, it is the largest contract ever to be handed to a prospect who hasn't yet played a single game in the majors.

The extension gives the Brewers a new face of the franchise for many years to come, allowing them to continue to mold the team of the future. Another way to do that would be to hand out an extension to another deserving player.

Currently, the Brewers only have three other players on long-term contracts: Christian Yelich, Aaron Ashby, and Freddy Peralta. Adding to that group could both give Chourio the support he needs to be successful and give the team a better chance of success moving forward. But to whom would it make the most sense to give an extension?

Here are three candidates to get the next contract extension from the Milwaukee Brewers.

1. C William Contreras

After being acquired from the Braves last offseason in one of GM Matt Arnold's first big moves at the helm, catcher William Contreras was expected to come in and provide some extra punch for the offense. He did exactly that, and more.

Contreras finished his first season in Milwaukee batting .289 with a .825 OPS, slugging 38 doubles and 17 homers, and driving in 78. That performance earned him a Silver Slugger award at the catcher position for the National League and even some MVP votes.

Contreras also significantly improved his defense, a common occurrence for catchers acquired by the Brewers. He finished in the top 10 among NL catchers in both Defensive Runs Saved (5) and Catcher Framing Runs Saved (7).

The Brewers still have four years of control left on Contreras and a long extension could both buy out those years and some free agent years as well. And if top catching prospect Jeferson Quero ends up being as good as advertised, Contreras could eventually be transitioned to DH, solving another position of issue for Milwaukee. Plus, just think of a Chourio-Contreras combo in the lineup year after year.