Arbitration Decisions Loom for Brewers

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Photo via Tyrone Taylor - Instagram

Tyrone Taylor

Tyrone Taylor

While most of the recent attention has been given to the Brewers’ sudden managerial vacancy and search for a replacement for Craig Counsell, another key offseason decision point is rapidly approaching. 

Friday is the deadline for MLB teams to tender a contract to their arbitration eligible players, which this year includes all players with more than two years and 118 days but less than six years of MLB service time. Offering those players a contract for the following season effectively commits a team to continue the arbitration process with that player (or agree to a contract in advance of a hearing). The alternative is to “non-tender” those players, making them eligible for free agency immediately.

This year the Brewers came into the offseason with 12 players eligible for arbitration, but that number dropped to eleven when they removed Eric Lauer from the 40-man roster. Some of those decisions will be easier than others: The Brewers will almost certainly opt to retain Willy Adames (who MLB Trade Rumors projects to receive $12.4 million) and Corbin Burnes ($15.1 million), even if they end up deciding to trade either or both of them later. Similarly, four of the Brewers’ top bullpen arms project to remain affordable as Devin Williams is projected to earn $6.5 million, Hoby Milner and Joel Payamps are at $1.7 million each and Bryse Wilson is at $1.3 million.

Elsewhere on the list, however, the Brewers have some more interesting decisions to make.

Rowdy Tellez

Once one of the top sparks in the Brewers’ offense, Tellez had a disastrous falloff during the 2023 season and ended up losing much of his playing time to trade deadline acquisition Carlos Santana. A year after hitting 35 home runs, Tellez hit just one in 191 plate appearances from May 23 through the end of the season. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to make $5.9 million.

While it would be difficult to count on Tellez to play every day in 2023, Carlos Santana’s free agency makes him the top candidate to do it at this point. The Brewers don’t have a clear in-house replacement for Tellez, so any decision to move on from him would likely require some kind of external addition to replace him.

Adrian Houser

Houser is eligible for arbitration for the final time this season and the aforementioned MLB Trade Rumors list has him projected to make $5.6 million. Houser has logged 100 or more innings as a Brewer in each of the last four full seasons, although he just cleared that mark with 102 2/3 innings in 2022 and 111 1/3 in 2023. He’ll turn 31 in February and he’s coming off a season where he improved his walk and strikeout numbers but gave up more home runs than he has in recent years.

Houser hasn’t always demonstrated the ability to stay healthy or be effective enough to be a continual member of the Brewers’ starting staff, but he almost certainly needs to stick around as depth at this point. With Brandon Woodruff likely out for most of 2024, Wade Miley opting to become a free agent this winter and Eric Lauer gone, Houser is probably the Brewers’ third-best starting pitcher at this point.

Tyrone Taylor

The only arbitration-eligible member of the Brewers’ outfield logjam is Taylor, and he’s relatively affordable at a projected salary of $1.7 million. The question is where the Brewers expect to find playing time for him if he stays. 2023 was a tale of two seasons for Taylor, who hit .175 with a .190 on-base and .299 slugging in his first 38 games but .276 with a .322 on-base and .552 slugging in his final 43.

A year ago at this time the Brewers also appeared to have an outfield logjam but their efforts to preserve organizational depth paid off as injuries made room for everyone to play. Unless the Brewers make a move to clear space or have another run of bad luck, however, it’s tough to imagine enough room in the outfield for Taylor, Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer and eventually top prospect Jackson Chourio.