Jake Bauers has gone from baseball afterthought to one of the Milwaukee Brewers’ most important bats, and that climb could put him on the Minnesota Twins’ radar for 2027.
For a long stretch, Bauers’ resume didn’t offer much reason to believe he would become a difference-maker. After debuting with the Tampa Bay Rays at 22 years old during the 2018 season, he flashed early with 11 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .700 OPS in his first 388 plate appearances across 96 games.
But once he was shipped to Cleveland, the numbers turned south and stayed there for years. From 2019 through 2024, he finished every season with a negative bWAR.
The stops kept coming. After leaving the New York Yankees, Bauers had another year with 12 home runs, tying his career high, but he hit just .202/.279/.413 and finished with a .673 slugging percentage.
Then came Milwaukee, where the bat still looked familiar in all the wrong ways: 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and a .662 OPS. Across six seasons, he sat at -1.9 bWAR and posted an 81 OPS+ while moving through five major league organizations.
By late 2024, he was nearly out of runway and almost convinced he had to walk away. Free agency was looming, the market didn’t look friendly, and he was expecting limited interest.
Becoming a father changed that equation and pushed him to keep going. Then he got a fresh start.
Bauers signed with the Brewers on January 6, 2025, on a minor league deal and got an invitation to Spring Training. Nearly two years later, he’s not just sticking around - he’s become one of Milwaukee’s key players, especially in October as the Brewers chase the first title in franchise history.
The regular season was the real turning point. Bauers put up the best year of his career with 26 home runs, 86 RBIs, an .874 OPS and 3.3 bWAR.
His value went beyond the box score too, and he was rewarded with the NLCS MVP award. This postseason, he’s delivered at some of the biggest moments, including an 11-pitch battle he capped with a two-run homer off left-hander Blake Snell in the seventh inning of Game 3 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He also singled off Drew Rasmussen in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series to help spark an early rally when the Rays jumped ahead 4-0.
Four straight balls from Alex Vesia, and we're tied at 4-4.Bauers comes through again!#Dodgers #Brewers #NLCS #LADvsMIL #MLB pic.twitter.com/mg6fgjmlWe
With that kind of season on the books, the big question is what comes next once the World Series ends and Bauers hits free agency.
Milwaukee will almost certainly have interest in keeping him. Still, there’s at least a chance the Brewers have another route in mind if their prospect depth lets them cover first base without him. If Bauers does reach the open market, he could be a fit for the Twins, who are at least exploring first-base possibilities for 2027.
Luis Arraez is another name that has come up as a possible return to Minnesota, and that route would give the Twins a cleaner fit at second base, with Kody Clemens as a strong option at first. The issue is that the club probably won’t make room for two infield additions. If the front office chooses to shop for a first baseman instead, Clemens could stay at second.
Among the available first basemen, Bauers and Ty France stand out. France leads free-agent first basemen with 4.5 fWAR over the last two campaigns, but the belief here is that San Diego won’t let him get away after the season he had. There’s also skepticism about France returning to Minnesota, since if he doesn’t stay with the Padres, he’d seem positioned to chase a bigger payday elsewhere.
That leaves Bauers as one of the more appealing names for Minnesota, particularly if Josh Bell and Ryan Jeffers don’t return and the Twins need more pop in the lineup for 2027.
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