Brewers Likely Avoiding William Contreras Mistake This Winter

The Milwaukee Brewers absolutely shouldn't cut ties with the All-Star backstop this winter.

Oct 28, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) celebrates after hitting an RBI double against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning in game five of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers have been fortunate to have William Contreras as a member of the organization over the last four seasons, to say the least.

Milwaukee acquired Contreras from the Atlanta Braves in a three-team deal, including the Athletics, that saw the Brewers cutting ties with Esteury Ruiz. The Brewers have come out looking like geniuses. Contreras has earned two All-Star nods as a member of the Brewers, two Silver Slugger Awards and won the 2026 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He's a special talent. In a perfect world, Contreras will stick with the Brewers for the rest of his career. But he has just one more season of team control left, which naturally led to chatter about a potential trade before the World Series even came to a close. ESPN's Jeff Passan fortunately shut down the idea of a move shortly after the World Series. MLB Network's Jon Morosi weighed in on the chatter on Wednesday and also threw cold water on the idea.

"I still believe it is a likelihood, it's better than 50-50 I believe, that Contreras is in a Brewers uniform to begin 2027," Morosi said. "We talked before about the problematic nature of moving a one-year player in the current labor environment. It's just more complicated than usual. ... I still think it is more likely than not that Contreras is a Brewer [in 2027], but we must keep a little daylight on the possibility."

It Would Be A Mistake To Trade William Contreras

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) celebrate after the Brewers defeated Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series during Game 5 of the World Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Oct 28, 2026. - Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

.@jonmorosi details his conversation with Brewers GM Matt Arnold about the outlook for William Contreras as he enters the final year of his contract. pic.twitter.com/Sd9mQ8OSBi

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 11, 2026

If you're a fan of the Brewers, this should be viewed as great news. Now, of course, there's a long offseason ahead and things could change, but the perception of Contreras has been very positive this offseason so far.

Over the last few years, we've seen the Brewers cut ties with stars a year away from free agency. Last year, it was Freddy Peralta who ended up being impacted by this concept. The Brewers sent him and Tobias Myers to the New York Mets in exchange for Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams are two other stars who were traded ahead of free agency.

Things have been different this offseason with Contreras, though. When the rumors and speculation kicked off over the last few years around Peralta, Burnes and Williams, they weren't shut down to the same level as the buzz around Contreras has been. Obviously, Peralta, Burnes and Williams all did end up getting moved. While speculation likely will continue, when you have multiple big-name insiders shutting down the idea, that should give fans solace and hope that Contreras isn't going anywhere.