The Milwaukee Brewers just won their first World Series title and while that high is going to last a good long while, especially with the looming MLB lockout likely to push back the start of the 2027 regular season, the offseason has officially begun and the cold hard reality that the Brewers are likely going to lose several key players is going to set in. Milwaukee has three unrestricted free agents who will hit the market this winter and it’s hard to see the Brewers retaining any of them.
Part of why the Brewers are so good is the fact that they do not overpay free agents. They let fan-favorite shortstop Willy Adames walk in free agency after 2024 and he signed a massive deal with the San Francisco Giants. It didn’t matter because Adames has not lived up to his contract in San Francisco at all while the Brewers won the World Series with Cooper Pratt as their shortstop.
This is just how they do business. They can’t sign every free agent under the sun like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees so they have to win in a smarter fashion. That’s why these three guys are almost certain to depart.
3 Free Agents Brewers Can Kiss Goodbye After World Series Triumph
Jake Bauers
Everyone knows how great a story first baseman Jake Bauers is. He nearly quit baseball a few years ago but hung in there and came up huge for the Brewers in the playoffs. He was the NLCS MVP against the Los Angeles Dodgers and played a huge role in that sweep.
The 31-year-old now hits free agency coming off the best regular season of his career. He hit .266/.389/.484 with 26 home runs and 86 runs batted in. He seems likely to earn a multi-year contact from some team in need of a power bat and unless he wants to take a discount to stay with Milwaukee he seems likely to depart.
Manager Pat Murphy thinks the Yankees might be interested and took a hilarious shot at them while congratulating Bauers following Milwaukee’s win on Wednesday night. Bauers caught the final out to secure the title but that may be his final play as a Brewer.
JoJo Romero
While Aaron Ashby rightfully gets a lot of love for how dominant he was in the playoffs for the Brewers, another southpaw reliever gets overshadowed in that praise. JoJo Romero was really good for the Brewers in the playoffs, allowing just one earned run in eight innings of work while striking out 11 batters and playing a key role in the NLCS.
Good left-handed relievers tend to make a killing in free agency and the Brewers are not going to pay whatever price tag ends up being placed upon him. Thankfully, their bullpen should still be pretty strong even if they lose him.
Brandon Woodruff
It was a great story that Woodruff was even included on the World Series roster after all of the injuries he has sustained. He got to close out the blowout that was Game 3 of the World Series and he’s been a really solid pitcher in Milwaukee for years, but they probably won’t be willing to pony up the $20 million per year or so it will take to sign him.
It will be hard for Brewers fans to see these guys depart, but they just have to remember that this is the franchise that traded Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta and let Adames walk yet still won a World Series after all those moves so clearly they know what they are doing.
3 Brewers Free Agents Who Are All But Gone After World Series Victory