MILWAUKEE — Brewers catcher William Contreras has avoided arbitration after agreeing to a one-year contract with a club option for 2027.
The Brewers announced the agreement Thursday without disclosing terms. Contreras will receive $9.4 million in 2026 and the club option for 2027 is worth $14.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. If Contreras finishes in the top four in MVP voting this season, the 2027 option becomes a mutual one, the source said, which will allow him to become a free agent if he declines it.
The figures that had been exchanged for a potential arbitration hearing had Contreras requesting $9.9 million and the team offering $8.55 million.
This marks the second straight year in which the two-time All-Star has agreed to terms on a deal shortly before a potential arbitration hearing. Contreras agreed to a $6.1 million deal last year that included a $12 million option for 2026 with a $100,000 buyout. The three-time defending NL Central champion Brewers opted against picking up that 2026 club option.
Contreras, 28, batted .260 with a .355 on-base percentage, 17 homers and 76 RBIs in 150 games last year while dealing with a fractured left middle finger for most of the season. He had finished fifth in the NL MVP voting in 2024 and was 11th in the balloting in 2023, his first year with Milwaukee.
His 2025 performance represented a dip in production after he won Silver Slugger awards each of his first two years with the Brewers.
Contreras batted .281 with a .365 on-base percentage, 23 homers and 92 RBIs in 2024. He hit .289 with a .367 on-base percentage, 17 homers and 78 RBIs in 141 games in 2023.
He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2024 as well as in 2022 with the Atlanta Braves.
The Brewers acquired Contreras along with reliever Joel Payamps in December 2022 as part of a three-team trade with the Braves and Athletics. The Brewers gave up outfielder Esteury Ruiz in the deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
