What today's non-tender deadline could reveal about the Brewers' offseason plans

Tuesday afternoon's qualifying offer decision deadline came with some fireworks for the Milwaukee Brewers; Brandon Woodruff, the team's longest-tenured player, accepted the $22.025 million qualifying offer and will return to Milwaukee for at least the 2026 season. Now, another offseason deadline is upon us -- the deadline of whether or not to tender contracts to eligible players -- and while this one isn't expected to have the same degree of impact that the qualifying offer one did, it still poses some interesting decisions for the Brewers' front office. Which way they choose to go, particularly on one key non-tender decision, could reveal just how much money is left in the coffers this winter.

Seven Brewers players are eligible for arbitration this winter, and therefore at risk of not being tendered a contract for the 2026 season. While pre-arbitration players can technically not have their contracts tendered as well, generally the players who fall under the category of "non-tender candidates" are those with growing arbitration salaries whose value on the field doesn't live up to what teams project them to ask for in the arbitration process. Accompanied by their projected arbitration salaries for the 2026 season, provided by the experts at MLB Trade Rumors, here are the seven arbitration-eligible players at risk of being "non-tendered" prior to this evening's deadline:

1. William Contreras (Arb 2) - $11.1 million
2. Andrew Vaughn (Arb 3) - $7.8 million
3. Brice Turang (Arb 1) - $4.4 million
4. Trevor Megill (Arb 2) - $4.2 million
5. Jake Bauers (Arb 3) - $2 million
6. Nick Mears (Arb 2) - $1.6 million
7. Garrett Mitchell (Arb 1) - $1 million

For the most part, the decision to tender each of the players listed above, not necessarily at the salary which MLB Trade Rumors projects them to earn, is an easy one; the Brewers will absolutely bring back Contreras, Vaughn, Turang, and Megill despite their rising cost, and at less than $2 million, both Mears and Mitchell feel like locks to be tendered contracts as well. The biggest question mark is backup first baseman and occasional corner outfielder Jake Bauers at $2 million, and Matt Arnold and company's ultimate decision could give added context to just how much room remains in the payroll for the rest of the offseason.

Brewers' decision of whether or not to tender Jake Bauers a contract for 2026 could reveal the organization's financial state for the rest of the offseason

At this time last year, following a season in which Bauers put up -0.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), the Brewers elected not to tender him a contract when he was projected to earn a salary of $2.3 million for the 2025 season. Milwaukee brought Bauers back on a minor league deal later in the offseason, and he assumed the same role that he played in 2024.

Despite appearing in 31 fewer games in 2025 than he did in 2024, a product of both Vaughn's emergence and a shoulder impingement that kept him on the injured list for over a month, Bauers' numbers improved across the board. His batting average jumped 36 points, his on-base percentage improved by more than 50, and his OPS+ went from 84 in 2024 (16% below the league average) to 111 in 2025 (11% better than the league average). Carried by a strong month of September, which leaked into the postseason, Bauers earned more than a minor league deal this offseason, but whether or not that means the Brewers will tender him a contract remains to be seen.

To some extent, the Brewers' decision will reveal just how much of an impact Woodruff's acceptance of the qualifying offer had on their financial situation in 2026. If the team's payroll isn't in a concerning place, bringing Bauers back to form a platoon with Vaughn at first base makes a lot of sense. The combo would form a formidable duo at the cold corner, presumably for less than $10 million combined. Bauers’ strong glove, light-tower power, impressive athleticism, and knack for coming up big in the postseason should lead any team in a healthy financial state to hand him the modest $2 million salary he's projected to earn.

However, if Woodruff's decision did catch the front office by surprise, and the team's payroll needs to be trimmed before other moves can be made, the backup first base position could be a place where Arnold and company could save a few bucks. Another option, as detailed by Reviewing the Brew's Tyler Koerth earlier in the week, is to have former Top 100 prospect Tyler Black assume the left-handed first base duties in 2026. Black is still on the league minimum salary next year, which is expected to be $820,000, meaning the Brewers could save over $1 million by picking him over Bauers.

That may not seem like a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, especially when big-market payrolls have eclipsed the $350 million mark, but everything makes a difference for an organization like the Brewers who have to be extra careful with every dollar they spend. It could be the case that $1 million is the difference between them winning a free-agent bidding war or them losing out to a wealthier club.

Therefore, today's non-tender deadline could give Brewers fans more information about how the organization views their payroll heading into the 2026 season, with their decision on Bauers being a good litmus test. If they offer Bauers a contract, it's fair to assume that the payroll is in a manageable place, but if they deny his contract and opt for a cheaper option, it could indicate that the team is searching for any way to save a dollar this winter with their payroll in a tight spot. That, or they are preparing their financial reserves for their next big offseason move.