Jake Bauers stood with his left foot on first base, extended his right leg and caught the baseball in the glove on his right hand.
It’s a motion he’d likely done more times in his baseball life than he could count. This time was different. This time secured the first-ever World Series championship for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Whenever the clip is played, it will feature Bauers catching the final out of the 2026 World Series as the Brewers clinched the championship in Game 5 over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Bauers didn’t have a great World Series at the plate himself, but he had a special season and got to play the finishing role in that historic final out — a ground ball to Brice Turang to retire Richie Palacios and start Milwaukee celebrations.
The tougher reality is that it might also be the last thing Bauers does in a Brewers uniform.
Jake Bauers Future
Bauers is one of just a few players on the Brewers’ World Series roster who was in the last year of his contract. He’s heading for free agency.
And the Brewers, generally, are not going to be winners on the top available free agents.
This is a weak hitter class of free agents, and while Bauers isn’t the best, he’s up there. He’ll attract plenty of interest from big clubs.
“Bauers had a breakout season as the Brewers’ everyday first baseman and cleanup hitter,” The Athletic’s Jim Bowden wrote earlier this week. “He slashed an impressive .266/.389/.484 with 26 homers, 93 runs scored, 86 RBIs, 11 steals and a 140 OPS+. Obviously, the pressure of playing in a free-agent walk year did not impact him, even though, as he told me during the NLCS, he did think about it quite a bit. Bauers had never hit more than 12 homers in a season coming into this year but also had never played more than 117 games. However, due to his career numbers, as good as his platform year was, he probably won’t be able to get the kind of contract that other first basemen have signed lately, like Josh Naylor and Willson Contreras.”
It’ll be up to Bauers to consider how he wants to approach his next steps.
Jake Bauers Contract Projection
Bowden projects that Bauers could get a four-year contract for $56 million. He also writes that the two best fits for Bauers would be a return to the Brewers or to sign with the New York Mets.
There will be more than those two teams after Bauers, as well.
At the end of the day, this is a guy who considered retirement two years ago, stuck it out, and found glory with the Brewers. Will that be enough to keep him in Milwaukee longer-term? Only time will tell.
Brewers’ Jake Bauers Caught Last Out Of World Series But Might Soon Be Gone