Brewers' Pat Murphy Brings Up Blake Snell's Salary In Unexpected Forum

The Brewers have done a lot of talking about the Dodgers...

Oct 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) walks back to the dugout following the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during game one of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The National League Championship Series has centered on a debate: Are the Milwaukee Brewers really underdogs?

During the regular season, the Brewers ruled the roost with the best record in Major League Baseball. But few viewed them as the favorites to take down the Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending World Series champions, and so far, the Dodgers have been having their way through two games.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy did his best to play up the underdog mentality before the series, and he did so again on the Wednesday off-day before Game 3. But he did so seemingly without realizing it this time around.

Murphy invokes Blake Snell's salary

Oct 14, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (49) looks on during batting practice prior to game two of the NLCS round against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Blake Snell was the Dodgers' starting pitcher in Game 1, and he schooled the Brewers for eight brilliant innings. And while giving him all the credit for his brilliance on Monday, Murphy brought up his salary in relation to the Milwaukee pitching staff.

"Snell makes more money than our entire pitching staff," Murphy said (via MLB.com video). "That's for a reason, because he's great. What he demonstrated the other night was the high end of his game, unbelievable. That's great. We can't do anything about it."

Snell counts for $28.4 million against the luxury tax threshold this year, but his cash salary was $64.8 million, according to Spotrac, which allows the Dodgers to pay him just $12.8 million in cash for each of the next four years.

That $64.8M figure seems as though it was likely the number Murphy was referencing, as the Brewers had plenty of pitchers making seven figures this year, and starters Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Jose Quintana nearly added up to $28.4 million on their own.

The Brewers won't see Snell again until Game 5 if they make it there, though they've still got massive challenges on their hands (and expensive ones, at that) in Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow.

But the more the Brewers focus on the fact that the Dodgers have more talent than they do on paper, the more they might be at risk of losing confidence that they can pull off this upset.

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