The Brewers already knew they would have one of baseball’s front-line catchers in the fold for the upcoming campaign in William Contreras. The only matter to settle was finalizing the contract situation for the two-time All-Star.

On Friday, the Brewers announced that they signed Contreras to a one-year deal, which includes a club option for 2026, to avoid arbitration with their star catcher. That tied the bow on Milwaukee’s last arbitration-eligible player for this offseason.

Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Contreras is set to earn $6 million in 2025, while his club option is valued at $12 million (or a $100,000 buyout). Earlier this month, the catcher’s camp filed for $6.5 million, while the Brewers countered with $5.6 million. The sides were able to find a middle ground rather than leaving the monetary decision in the hands of a three-person arbitration panel in a hearing.

Contreras is coming off a standout performance for the Brewers in ‘24, when he finished fifth in voting for the National League MVP Award, started for the Senior Circuit in the All-Star Game and picked up a Silver Slugger Award. Milwaukee’s local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America also named him the club MVP for the second year in a row.

In 155 games for the NL Central-champion Brewers last year, Contreras slashed .281/.365/.466 with 23 homers, 37 doubles, 92 RBIs and 99 runs scored. The catcher had an .831 OPS, while posting 4.9 bWAR and a 5.4 fWAR in his second season with Milwaukee, which acquired him from Atlanta prior to the ‘23 season.

Contreras heads into ‘25 as a catalyst for a Brewers team looking to win a third consecutive division crown. Milwaukee’s likely backup to its All-Star backstop is veteran Eric Haase, while the Brewers also have highly-touted prospect Jeferson Quero (No. 47 on Pipeline’s preseason Top 100 list) waiting in the wings.