Brewers avoid arbitration with C Haase before tender deadline

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers signed backup catcher Eric Haase to a one-year contract on Friday and cut loose left-hander Hoby Milner while pressing forward into the arbitration process with all of their other eligible players, including All-Stars William Contreras and Devin Williams.

Teams had until 7 p.m. CT on Friday to tender contracts to the unsigned players under club control, including arbitration-eligible players. Clubs have three choices for that situation: They can tender the player a contract, which means that the sides commit to proceeding in the arbitration process to determine a salary for next season, agree with the player on the terms of a new contract to avoid the arbitration process altogether, or “non-tender” the player and make him a free agent.

Even after previously cutting ties with three such players -- right-handers Colin Rea and Bryse Wilson and first baseman Jake Bauers -- the Brewers went into Friday’s deadline day with eight players still eligible for arbitration:

• RHP Aaron Civale
• Contreras
• Haase
• RHP Nick Mears
• RHP Trevor Megill
• Milner
• RHP Joel Payamps
• Williams

By day’s end, the fate of those players was clearer. Haase had a deal for 2025, making him the frontrunner for No. 2 catcher duties. Civale, Contreras, Mears, Megill, Payamps and Williams moved forward under Brewers control, and Milner, after 220 appearances for Milwaukee over the past four seasons, was a free agent.

Contreras, Mears and Megill were all eligible for arbitration for the first time. On the other end of the spectrum, Civale and Williams were all eligible for arbitration one final time before reaching free agency, a status that would allow their representatives to draw from a broader pool of comparable players to negotiate a salary for next season. Milner fell into that same category, coming off a 4.73 ERA in an uncharacteristically choppy year.

“The thing to point on Hoby is what a total pro he is and what a tremendous teammate he’s been since the time we originally brought him into the organization on a Minor League contract,” Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine said. “It’s also important to point out that this doesn’t close the door on Hoby’s tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers. Just last year, we went through this with [Brandon Woodruff], where he was non-tendered and then we were able to reach a deal to bring him back.”

Asked about talks with the players who were tendered contracts, particularly Contreras and Williams, Kleine said, “We’re in great shape. Typically, with players of that caliber, teams don’t even bother having phone calls with those guys at this point because there’s no threat of a non-tender. Today is more about the players where it’s a little less certain.”

Contreras, the Brewers’ club MVP each of the past two seasons, finished fifth in NL MVP Award balloting that was released Thursday night. He may be a candidate for a contract extension, but those discussions would be more appropriate at a later date, Kleine said, once the sides start negotiating a deal for next season.

Williams, meanwhile, is a somewhat unique case in that he’s eligible for arbitration because the Brewers earlier this month declined his $10.5 million club option for 2025. That was purely a business decision, Kleine explained, stemming from Williams being sidelined for the first four months of 2024 by a back injury. The relationship between the Brewers and the two-time NL Reliever of the Year, Kleine said, remains “strong” – even as Williams’ name is floated as a possible trade candidate going into a contract year.

“Look, the administrative processes we have to go through behind the scenes, and this one in particular, was relatively straightforward,” Kleine said. “It was completely non-adversarial. The club option value was priced at a level commensurate with full-season performance, and because Devin missed most of the season, his arb value will fall well below where the option value would have been.

“I maintained contact with his agent early on in the offseason and this was not a surprise to Devin, not a surprise to his agent.”

Arbitration-eligible players who were tendered contracts on Friday can continue negotiating with teams until Jan. 9, when those who remain unsigned will exchange formal salary proposals with the team. After that, a hearing is scheduled early in Spring Training, at which time each side argues for its figure and a three-member panel of judges picks one or the other.

Haase made a splash with the Brewers last spring by hitting .395 with five home runs in 38 Cactus League at-bats. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster but did stay in the organization, and he eventually found a niche on the Major League club as a third catcher and right-handed pinch-hitter with pop, delivering an .819 OPS in a small sample of 69 plate appearances down the stretch. With Gary Sánchez a free agent, Haase is currently positioned as the primary backup to starting catcher Contreras while Jeferson Quero, MLB Pipeline's No. 1 Brewers prospect, completes a comeback from shoulder surgery that cost him all of 2024.