The Brewers announced decisions on three options decisions today. First baseman Rhys Hoskins and left-hander Jose Quintana both had mutual options declined and are now free agents. The club also turned down a club option on catcher William Contreras, who remains under club control via arbitration.
Contreras, 28 in December, qualified for arbitration for the first time a year ago. He and the Brewers couldn’t agree on his salary for 2025, his first of three arb years, prior to the January 15th filing deadline. Late in January, they avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option. It was a $6.1MM guarantee in the form of a $6MM salary for 2025 and a $100K buyout on a $12MM club option for 2026.
In the season which just ended, Contreras still put up decent numbers but he played through a finger fracture and wasn’t quite at his previous level. His .260/.355/.399 line translated to a 113 wRC+, indicating he was 13% above league average, but he was 26-39% better than par in the three previous seasons.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Contreras for $11.1MM in his second arbitration season, a bit below the value of the club option. Presumably, Milwaukee’s internal projections are somewhat similar. They will give Contreras the $100K buyout for now. Later, they will try to get him signed for his second arbitration season with a salary below $12MM, therefore saving a few bucks.
The other two decisions were more straightforward. Mutual options are mostly an accounting measure designed to move part of the guarantee to the end of the deal. It’s been more than a decade since a mutual option was exercised by both parties.
Hoskins, 33 in March, signed with the Brewers going into the 2024 season. He had missed the entire 2023 campaign due to a torn ACL. It was a two-year deal with an opt-out halfway through. He would make $12MM in 2024 with a $4MM buyout on an $18MM player option, followed by an $18MM mutual option for 2026 with a $4MM buyout.
Ideally, Hoskins would have returned to form before heading back to free agency, but it didn’t play out that way. He hit .214/.303/.419 in 2024. That translated to a 101 wRC+, indicating he was barely above average. That wasn’t awful but also wasn’t good enough for a guy who isn’t an especially strong defender or baserunner. He triggered his player option and returned to Milwaukee for 2025.
His bat ticked up slightly this year, as he hit .237/.332/.416 for a 109 wRC+, but he missed about two months with a sprained left thumb. He got Wally Pipped by Andrew Vaughn while he was out and was left off the club’s playoff roster.
The Brewers will move on while Hoskins will look for a new opportunity elsewhere. His reputation should be enough for a major league deal but his age and recent performance will likely limit him to one-year deals.
Quintana, 37 in January, lingered in free agency last offseason. The Brewers grabbed him in March, signing him to a one-year deal with a $4MM guarantee. That broke down as a $2MM salary and a $2MM buyout on a $15MM mutual option.
The lefty had a decent year, making 24 starts with a 3.96 earned run average, though he worked around a subpar 16% strikeout rate. His .259 batting average on balls in play was on the low side, which is why measures like his 4.81 FIP and 5.04 SIERA feel his ERA should have been about a full run higher. He’ll take his buyout and look for his next opportunity. Despite the low strikeouts, a solid veteran innings eater like Quintana will still be in line for a major league deal.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images
