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It took 57 years from their inception, 56 years since they arrived in Milwaukee, and 44 years since they last made the World Series, but the Brewers finally won a ring. They did it with smart drafts, international signings, and a developmental process that didn’t stop when players reached the majors or earned journeyman status. It’s a culmination, hard-won and deeply felt, with no shortcuts on field or off. But now, in the afterglow of a dominant run through the rest of baseball’s best, we’re left to wonder whether this is the start of a new dynasty.
As with all things baseball in the near future, whether the Brewers can sustain this success hinges on the looming lockout. Will the owners get their way and implement a salary cap and floor system? Are all teams going to share local TV revenue? How these and other policy changes affect the Brewers, who reside in MLB’s smallest media market, matters. Even if it may not seem so dire right now.
The Brewers’ success is a poke in the eye to the idea that small-market teams can’t compete with big-budget behemoths. Same as the deep playoff runs of the Rays and Guardians. But look closer. Occasional success through smart planning and a little luck isn't the same as keeping a winning team together for multiple seasons.
To their credit, this Brewers team may be uniquely positioned to do exactly that, thanks to a roster full of young stars with years of team control remaining. Brice Turang, Jacob Misiorowski, and Jackson Chourio aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. But other key players may not be as certain to return.
The Brewers have to wonder whether first baseman Jake Bauers will be able to parlay his strong year and postseason heroics into a lucrative deal. Ditto lefty reliever JoJo Romero. What about veteran starter Brandon Woodruff? Will he return after another injury-interrupted season?
The bigger priority: what do the Brewers do about closer Trevor Megill and World Series MVP catcher William Contreras? Both are free agents after next season.
Do they hold them through next season like they did when they let Willy Adames ultimately walk as a free agent? Do they lean on their track record of dealing soon-to-be free agents and weather the storm of letting Megill and Contreras go early?
The Brewers have done quite well flipping Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and Freddy Peralta. Those deals brought back pitchers Robert Gasser, DL Hall, Brandon Sproat, and infielder Joey Ortiz. Additionally, they acquired a player (Esteury Ruiz) they flipped for Contreras and another, Caleb Durbin, they used to get pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, plus infielder David Hamilton. Basically, the Brewers’ brain trust regularly turns impending losses into gains.
Still, fans grow understandably attached to players, especially ones who help deliver a World Series. Letting Megill or Contreras go, even if they bring back a haul, would hurt, but don’t take their exits as a foregone conclusion.
The Brewers have gone big to keep a star previously. In 2020, they locked up Christian Yelich on a 7-year/$188.5M extension; the kind of top-range deal small-market teams are supposed to be allergic to. Perhaps that signals an openness to committing to either or both of Megill and Contreras. While both are sure to unlock healthy multiyear deals (especially the younger Contreras), we aren’t talking about Edwin Díaz or Kyle Tucker money.
Regardless of what happens with those players, the Brewers have reinforcements on the way. Jesus Made is a switch-hitting 19-year-old shortstop who just finished a full season at AA. Multiple outlets rank him as baseball’s best prospect overall, and he could make an impact for the Brewers in 2027 with his mix of power and speed. They also have three additional prospects among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 behind Made and the third-best farm system in the sport according to MLB.com.
Graduating prospects cover for graduating stars, rinse and repeat. This is how the Brewers got to this point, and how they’ll stay there. It’s a lifecycle with a success rate that might defy logic, letting the Brewers defy their market's fiscal limitations—a miraculous Milwaukee metamorphosis.
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