MILWAUKEE -- After delivering two of the Brewers’ biggest moments in the waning days of the 2024 season, first baseman Jake Bauers is back, but he’ll have to earn his spot.

Bauers, whom the Brewers removed from the 40-man roster in early November in anticipation of a non-tender, has signed back with the club on a Minor League deal that includes an invitation to Major League camp.

Bauers will find himself in a familiar position, an option for first base alongside right-handed-hitting Rhys Hoskins, who exercised a player option to return for 2025 after posting a slash line of .214/.303/.419 and hitting 26 home runs in 517 plate appearances last season. Bauers slashed .199/.301/.361 and hit 12 home runs in 346 plate appearances but delivered some signature moments -- a walk-off single against the Phillies on Sept. 18, the day the Brewers clinched the NL Central title, and a pinch-hit home run against the Mets in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series to break a scoreless tie in the seventh inning.

The homer was the first of back-to-back shots for the Brewers in a thriller of a game, which ultimately went to the Mets on Pete Alonso’s go-ahead home run in the ninth.

“There’s something to be said for mental toughness, focus, not giving up, being persistent and having a little bit of confidence regardless of how things are going or how they’ve been,” Bauers said that night. “Just show up and be the best version of yourself every day and let the chips fall where they may.”

Bauers’ power will be one of his assets as the Brewers report to Spring Training camp. Willy Adames, who led last year’s club with 32 home runs, signed with the Giants this winter, and the Brewers haven’t yet acquired any hitters to fill that void.