The 2025-26 offseason splash the Brewers need to at least entertain

When you win the most games in MLB in a given season and make the League Championship Series, it's a good sign that the formula you're using works.

The Milwaukee Brewers accomplished both such feats in 2025, even if their season did end with a dud of a four-game performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

They don't need to overhaul the roster or coaching staff this offseason in order to maintain their status atop the NL Central -- especially with the Chicago Cubs set to potentially lose Kyle Tucker in free agency -- but there's always room for improvement.

The Brewers aren't the type of franchise to make a traditional "big splash" in free agency or via trade (unless they're trading away a superstar of their own), so expect the usual low-cost, high-upside signings that tend to define offseasons in Wisconsin.

As such, expect any major news involving the Brewers to include some of their own talent. And since I can't reasonably say "don't trade Freddy Peralta" to represent the big move the Brewers need to make this offseason, let's turn our attention to another in-house star who needs some love: William Contreras.

Brewers should prioritize a William Contreras extension this offseason

Save for Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and the club-option-heavy deal Aaron Ashby signed, the Brewers don't have any long-term money on their books.

Plus, they're set to free up a lot of salary once the offseason officially begins. Rhys Hoskins' $18 million mutual option is sure to be declined after Andrew Vaughn's emergence, and the same is true for the mutual options of Brandon Woodruff ($20 million), Danny Jansen ($12 million), and Jose Quintana ($15 million). Jordan Montgomery and his expired contract will join them in free agency as well.

That leaves plenty of room for the Brewers to negotiate with their star catcher, who has a $12 million club option of his own for 2026 (if declined, he'll enter his second year of arbitration), and was just named a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award for his third consecutive season (his entire tenure in Milwaukee). The 27-year-old Contreras wasn't at quite the same peak in 2025 as he was in the previous couple of seasons, but a .260/.355/.399 (113 wRC+) batting line is nothing to sneeze at for a catcher, especially one who has played 140+ plus games in each of the past three seasons.

He's also an above-average defender behind the plate, and his postseason résumé is extensive (if a little underwhelming), including a few crucial home runs against the Cubs in the NLDS this year.

He'll probably demand a nine-figure contract with just two years of team control remaining until free agency. Remember, from 2023-24, Contreras was worth 11.1 fWAR (tops among all backstops), supplied a 129 wRC+ to the middle of Milwaukee's lineup, and offered generally solid defense behind the plate.

Cal Raleigh's six-year, $105 million deal (signed before his homer-palooza) may be the mark to beat, though J.T. Realmuto's five-year, $115 million contract with the Phillies represents a pricier mark for Contreras to aim for in negotiations.

Regardless of the final dollar amount, it would behoove the front office to get a deal hammered out with one of their best players. Had the Mariners waited one more year to sign Raleigh, they'd be forking over double what they actually did—the Brewers can't afford (literally) to make that mistake with Contreras.