The Milwaukee Brewers made their final option decisions this afternoon (which were due Thursday). There are no real surprises, although one of those decisions could have gone either way:
Hoskins and Quintana’s decisions were a no-brainer. Hoskins was the Brewers’ best hitter by the time the season rolled around in late May, but when Milwaukee turned the season around, Hoskins went in the opposite direction. From May 24 to July 5, Hoskins hit just .161/.252/.339, and on the final date of that run he suffered a thumb sprain that landed him on the injured list. Andrew Vaughn then mercilessly stole Hoskins’ job, and despite returning to the Brewers on September 9, Hoskins made just one start the rest of the way, collecting one hit in just 10 at-bats. He didn’t make the Brewers’ postseason roster.
Quintana provided value to the Brewers last season, but he only made $4 million in 2025 and didn’t come close to the $15 million option. He’s also a year older and will turn 37 before the 2026 season begins. He’ll probably get a job somewhere, but not for $15 million.
Contreras’ decision could irritate some Brewer fans who view the team as cheap; the team is about to save an amount that seems trivial in the multi-billion dollar world of baseball, probably an amount less than a million dollars. These arbitration hearings can be uncomfortable for teams and players, and there is at least one notable example in recent Brewers history where a player was quite upset with the way the team presented his case during the arbitration.
I would be surprised if Contreras has such evil consequences. I’m sure the team made it pretty clear to his agent why that option was included. It may seem trivial, but this is a business after all, and the Brewers are far from the only team that would have made a similar decision. There’s also always a chance the Brewers could consider a longer-term deal for Contreras, and declining that option won’t affect those negotiations whether they happen or not.
With Hoskins and Quintana becoming free agents, the Brewers’ 40-man roster now stands at 36, though they still haven’t officially activated Garrett Mitchell and Logan Henderson from the 60-day IL.
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