William Contreras Has One-Word Response To Brewers Arbitration Process

The Milwaukee Brewers had an eventful day on Thursday.

It was the deadline across Major League Baseball for teams and arbitration-eligible players to file salary numbers. In many cases, including with the Brewers, the two sides find a way to agree to terms on a deal without going to arbitration. But that's it's always the case. For example, the Brewers avoided arbitration with five players on Thursday, not including catcher William Contreras, as shared by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

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"The Brewers struck agreements Thursday with five of their remaining arbitration-eligible players including 2025 club MVP Brice Turang," McCalvy wrote "But for the second straight year they were unable to make a deal with All-Star catcher William Contreras prior to a 7 p.m. CT deadline and now face the possibility of a hearing in the coming weeks. Five other Brewers players who were eligible for arbitration reached one-year agreements on Thursday to avoid that sometimes thorny process, including second baseman Turang, who was eligible for arbitration for the first time as a 'Super Two' player. He will earn $4.15 million in 2026, a source told MLB.com.

The Brewers need to work something out

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) takes out Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández (37) at home during the fourth inning of the of their National League Championship Series game October 13, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Also agreeing to terms were first baseman Andrew Vaughn ($7.65 million), closer Trevor Megill ($4.7 million), reliever Angel Zerpa ($1.095 million) and center fielder Garrett Mitchell ($950,000)."

As McCalvy pointed out, this is the second straight offseason that the Brewers and Contreras were unable to get a deal done. Last offseason, the two sides didn't come to terms initially and appeared to be heading to a hearing, but eventually got a deal done beforehand.

After the news came out on Thursday, Contreras took to X with one word: "Wow" with emojis.

Wow🥴🫨
— William Contreras (@Wcontreras42) January 9, 2026

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that Contreras filed at $9.9 million, while the Brewers filed at $8.55 million.

Feinsand also reported that Contreras is "likely" heading to a hearing.

"The Brewers have agreed to deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players, except for William Contreras, who is likely headed for an arbitration hearing, per source," Feinsand wrote.

Arbitration is a difficult process. It's the case every year with players around the league. Hopefully, the two sides can work something out without the need of a hearing.

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