With the Milwaukee Brewers play-off run cut extremely short, the focus now shifts to the off-season. Most recently, MLB Trade Rumors announced its 2022 salary projections for arbitration eligible players. This year, 14 Brewers in total are eligible for arbitration.
Arbitration is a process that helps determine a players salary for the upcoming season. This only occurs if the team and player cannot agree to a deal ahead of time. Typically, an arbitration hearing occurs in February.
In this article, we are going to look at five Brewers players who are due for pay increases via arbitration.
1) Josh Hader – $10MM
As one of the best closers in the game, it is not surprising that Josh Hader is projected to have the biggest salary of any Brewers arbitration player. He is currently looking at just over a $3MM increase from his 2021 $6.675MM salary. This is his third year of arbitration out of four due to being a Super Two player.
2) Brandon Woodruff – $7.1MM
Woodruff has been the Brewers opening day starter each of the past two seasons and a key member of the starting rotation. In his first year of arbitration, Woodruff earned a $3.275 MM salary. This means that his projected 2022 salary is over double what he made this year.
3) Omar Narvaez – $4.1MM
Narvaez was one of the Brewers most consistent hitters during the 2021 season. His defense again improved tremendously and he is one of the best pitch framers in the game. After agreeing to terms on a $2.5MM deal last off-season, Narvaez is likely to get near his projected arbitration total for the 2022 season.
4) Corbin Burnes – $4.0MM
Burnes pitching at an elite level each of the past two seasons during his pre-arbitration years may go down as one of the greatest bargains of all time. As a Cy Young Candidate and ERA title holder in 2021, there is no arguing that Burnes is not deserving of a pay increase. One interesting idea, that David Stearns hinted at in his recent press conference, is that the Brewers may look to offer him an extension and buy out his arbitration years. This could save the Brewers money in the long run.
5) Willy Adames – $4.00MM
An over looked aspect when the Brewers traded for Adames earlier in the season, is that he came with three years of club control. This is exciting news given how well he performed and essentially turned the Brewers season around. However, given his talent his first year of arbitration is a bit more than others and may continue to climb in years to come if he keeps performing.
Other Brewers eligible for arbitration this year include: Eric Lauer, Luis Urias, Brent Suter, Adrian Houser, Daniel Vogelbach, Rowdy Tellez, Jace Peterson, Luke Maile, and Jandel Gustave. Most of these players played key roles in the teams 2021 success. It will be interesting to see how the Brewers proceed with this during the off-season.
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