The Brewers should reject William Contreras' club option for the 2026 season

The genius of the Milwaukee Brewers' President of Baseball Operations, Matt Arnold, not only shines through in the countless trades that he's won since taking over as the head of the front office in November of 2022, but it's also apparent in the minor, often overlooked moves that he makes to keep the Brewers competitive despite their modest payroll.

One such move, that snuck under the radar last offseason, is now coming into focus as the Brewers approach the deadline to exercise or decline the club and mutual options included in several of their players' contracts; the exact deadline is yet to be determined, as it will occur five days after the completion of the World Series, and that date is not set in stone. Prior to said deadline, the Brewers have to decide whether or not to exercise All-Star catcher, William Contreras' $12 million club option for the 2026 season.

The decision, though it may seem backwards at first without further explanation, is an easy one: Milwaukee should decline Contreras' club option.

Brewers projected to save nearly $1 million by declining William Contreras' 2026 club option and making him eligible for arbitration

More explanation is certainly warranted, as at first glance saying the Brewers will turn down the contract of their All-Star catcher and team leader makes zero sense.

Last offseason, the Brewers and Contreras failed to reach an initial agreement on the catcher's salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Contreras and his agent filed for $6.5 million, and the Brewers believed his services were worthy of a $5.6 million salary. Rather than head to what can be a contentious arbitration hearing, the two sides agreed on a $6 million contract for the 2025 season.

However, Matt Arnold made sure to include a $12 million club option for the 2026 season as well before the two sides signed the papers. Said option came with a $100k buyout if the Brewers chose not to exercise the option, effectively making Contreras' 2025 salary $6.1 million, which is closer to the number he filed for than the one the Brewers did. That tradeoff presumably allowed Arnold to secure the club option, which is a huge advantage for the front office.

Why is a $12 million club option for a player who made half of that salary in 2025 a huge advantage for the Brewers?

Contreras' club option took away all of the risk associated with having one of the best catchers in baseball being eligible for arbitration. If Contreras, say, had an MVP season in 2025, his projected arbitration salary would have likely been much higher than $12 million, but if he had an average season, his projected arbitration salary would be lower than the club option, allowing the Brewers to reject the option and go through the arbitration process once again with their All-Star catcher.

Therein lies the expertise of Matt Arnold; he set his front office up to be successful regardless of the season that Contreras ended up having in 2025. The Brewers catcher was solid in 2025, but not the MVP candidate that he was in 2024, and as a result, his projected arbitration salary this year, as provided by the experts at MLB Trade Rumors, is roughly $11.1 million -- still a hefty raise, but notably less than the club option the Brewers hold.

Therefore, the decision for Arnold and company, who are constantly having to find creative ways to save a few dollars here or there, is easy: reject Contreras' club option and go through the arbitration process once more.

The only downside is the aforementioned contentious nature of arbitration hearings should the two sides once again not initially agree on a salary. However, with Contreras' team-first approach, as evidenced in the open letter he penned to Milwaukee just before the postseason began, he should be more understanding of the team's motivations behind saving money, knowing that those dollars could be used to better the team.