The Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon made their final option decisions (which needed to be made by Thursday). There are no real surprises, though one of those decisions could have gone either way:
- The Brewers declined their end of the mutual options on Rhys Hoskins and Jose Quintana. Hoskins’ mutual option was worth $18 million, and the Brewers will now pay him a $4m buyout. Quintana had a mutual option at $15m, with a buyout of $2m.
- Milwaukee also declined their club option on catcher William Contreras, though they maintain his rights. Last year, in his first year of arbitration, Contreras signed a two-year deal that paid him $6m in 2025 with a $12m club option in 2026 and a $100,000 buyout. By declining the option, Contreras just returns as an “arb two” player, so the Brewers are betting that they’ll be able to sign him in arbitration for $11.8m or less. His projected arb figure via MLB Trade Rumors sits at $11.1m.
The Hoskins and Quintana decisions were no-brainers. Hoskins was the Brewers’ best hitter by the time the season reached late May, but as Milwaukee turned its season around, Hoskins went in the other direction. From May 24th until July 5th, Hoskins hit just .161/.252/.339, and on the last date of that run
he suffered a thumb sprain that landed him on the injured list. Andrew Vaughn then mercilessly stole Hoskins’ job, and despite returning to the Brewers on September 9, Hoskins made only one start the rest of the way and had one hit in just ten plate appearances. He did not make the Brewers’ roster.
Quintana offered value to the Brewers last season, but he was making only $4m in 2025 and was nowhere near the $15m that his option was worth. He’s also a year older, and will be 37 before the 2026 season starts. He’ll probably get a job somewhere, but not at $15m.
The Contreras decision might annoy certain Brewer fans who think of the team as cheap, as the team stands to save an amount of money that seems trivial when dealing in the multi-billion dollar baseball business, likely an amount that is less than one million dollars. These arbitration hearings can be uncomfortable for teams and players, and there’s at least one notable instance in recent Brewers history of a player being rather upset at the way the team presented its case at arbitration.
I’d be surprised if there’s any such bad blood with Contreras. I’m sure the team made it pretty clear to his agent why the option was in there. It might seem trivial, but this is a business, after all, and the Brewers are far from the only team that would’ve made a similar decision. There’s always a chance, too, that the Brewers are considering a longer-term deal for Contreras, and declining that option has no bearing on those negotiations, whether they’re happening or not.
With Hoskins and Quintana becoming free agents, the Brewers’ 40-man roster is now at 38, including the still-not-officially-activated Garrett Mitchell and Logan Henderson.
