The Milwaukee Brewers have a straightforward call to make by Monday afternoon, and it centers on Antonio Senzatela’s $14 million club option for the 2027 season.
With the World Series wrapped up, the clock is already ticking on a handful of roster decisions around the league. Brandon Woodruff, JoJo Romero and Jake Bauers have entered free agency, while Dustin May had a mutual option declined and is also on the open market. Teams have five days after the World Series ends to sort out those option calls, and Milwaukee still has work to do.
Senzatela is the one that stands out most. The Brewers brought him in from the Colorado Rockies ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, then watched him post a 5.14 ERA over 23 appearances and 21 innings in the regular season.
The playoff version was a different story. In four appearances totaling 4 1/3 innings, he didn’t allow an earned run and struck out three.
Even with that strong October finish, it would be a surprise to see Milwaukee commit $14 million to a 31-year-old reliever. As of now, no official decision has been announced, but the expectation is that the Brewers will decline the option and let him hit free agency.
If they did exercise it, Senzatela would become the second-highest-paid player on the Brewers for 2027 behind Christian Yelich, unless William Contreras’ situation changes that picture.
There’s still a case for keeping Senzatela around, just not at that price. The better move would be to pass on the option and then see whether a new deal can be worked out once he reaches free agency.
Senzatela has been in the majors for 10 seasons and owns a 5.09 career ERA across 235 appearances. The 2026 campaign was his first full year working as a reliever.
Before that, in 2025, he made 30 appearances for Colorado, including 23 starts, and finished with a 6.65 ERA.
Spotrac currently pegs his market value at a little over $9 million over two seasons, which is a much more workable figure for Milwaukee. If the Brewers do decline the option, that number would give them a sensible starting point for a new conversation.
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For a Brewers team trying to keep its core intact while sorting through the rest of the roster, keeping Contreras in place would be a major stabilizing move. His value goes well beyond the numbers, and the front office now appears to have at least one foundational decision made, even if other parts of the bullpen picture are still very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]