The Yankees’ search for catching help has led them to an unexpected name: William Contreras.
Bleacher Report recently floated the Brewers star as a possible trade candidate, and while that idea might sound odd on the surface, it does line up with a pattern Milwaukee has shown before. The Brewers have not been shy about moving on from star players ahead of their final season of team control, and the report pointed to recent examples such as Freddy Peralta this past winter, Devin Williams the year before that, and Corbin Burnes the offseason before that.
“Between Freddy Peralta this past winter, Devin Williams the previous year and Corbin Burnes the offseason before that, we have plenty of evidence that the Brewers are not afraid to trade away a star player ahead of his final season of team control.
“Nor should they be afraid, as they inexplicably just keep getting better every time they do it. Well, William Contreras has a $14.5M club option for 2027. The Brewers could definitely benefit from another starting pitcher or two in a rotation that can get questionable quickly beyond Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson,” Bleacher Report wrote.
For Milwaukee, the logic would be tied to pitching. The piece argued the Brewers could use another starter or two, especially with the rotation thinning out quickly after Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.
Still, the idea of dealing Contreras is a tough one to sell. Moving on from him does not make much sense, and he feels different from some of the other names Milwaukee has shipped out in recent years.
That said, the Brewers’ track record has made these kinds of scenarios impossible to dismiss entirely. Josh Hader, Freddy Peralta, and Corbin Burnes all came up in the discussion, with the larger point being that this front office has a habit of finding a way to keep the machine running even after losing big names.
Contreras, though, would be a different kind of swing. And that’s what makes this one worth watching.
In Other News...
Brewers Have A Late-Inning Edge That Could Rattle The Dodgers
If there is a place the Brewers can feel especially good heading into this matchup, it is the late innings. Milwaukees bullpen has spent most of the season giving Craig Counsells old club a way to shorten games, and the mix at the back end has been built around Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby. Megill, acquired after bouncing around to a few organizations, has settled into a role that fits his power fastball and sharper command, while Uribe has given the Brewers a hard-to-hit look with elite run prevention traits and a ground-ball profile that plays in October.
That matters now because the Dodgers are the kind of opponent that can make any lead feel fragile, and Milwaukees relief group has already shown it can carry real weight when the games tighten. The Brewers do not need their bullpen to be flashy so much as dependable, and in a series where one clean inning can change the tone, that edge could become one of the most important parts of the matchup. The only question is how far that advantage can stretch once the biggest spots arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Lost A Veteran Arm From Their Bullpen Depth Plan
The Braves bullpen depth chart took another hit this week with Ian Hamilton and Rob Zastryzny both electing minor league free agency. Hamiltons route back onto the market came after the Yankees non-tendered him and Atlanta brought him in on a non-guaranteed major league deal, but his time there never really got traction, with only limited work in the majors and at Triple-A before he was back on the move.
For Milwaukee, Zastryzny is the more familiar name, having previously pitched for the Brewers and a handful of other clubs as a left-handed depth option. His latest stretch never got much momentum either, as injury slowed him early and kept him from establishing a real role, leaving him to choose free agency rather than stay in the organization and wait for another opening. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Roster Philosophy Looks Smarter As Former Player Faces Wrong Fit
With the National League Championship Series rematch against the Dodgers on deck, the Brewers are once again looking like a club built with a clear identity. Milwaukee has long favored depth, flexibility and players who fit defined jobs over chasing the same kind of roster template everyone else is using, and that approach is part of why the team keeps showing up in October with a chance to make noise. It also makes former Brewers player Caleb Durbin an interesting measuring stick, because his game still speaks to the values Milwaukee tends to prize.
Durbin is the kind of contact-first, small-ball player who can help a lineup in the right setting, but he is not built around forcing the ball over the wall. Now he is in a different environment, where the discussion is less about leaning into what he does well and more about asking him to cover for other problems around him. For Milwaukee, it is another reminder that roster fit matters as much as raw talent, and that the Brewers way of doing business can look pretty sharp when contrasted with a club trying to make a mismatched piece serve a different purpose. [Read more 🡒]