Brewers Make Their Move on Jake Bauers as Non-Tender Speculation Swirls Around Milwaukee .MH
Is keeping Bauers the right call?
Every roster spot and every dollar matters for the Milwaukee Brewers, and Jake Bauers could be a wise or a foolish use of both.
Friday evening is the deadline for all 30 major league teams to either tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players, or non-tender them and send them to free agency. Bauers, a first baseman/outfielder who typically gets part-time reps against right-handed pitchers, was right on the roster bubble.
Headed into his final season of arbitration eligibility, Bauers’ modest salary could still have been seen as a burden on the payroll considering his limited role. But the Brewers evidently decided the cost of keeping him around wasn’t too great after all.
Brewers lock in Jake Bauers, avoid arbitration
On Thursday, the Brewers announced on social media that they had agreed to a one-year contract with Bauers, avoiding arbitration and locking him in for a guaranteed major league salary for the coming season.
At the time of publication, Bauers’ salary was not yet known. He made $1.4 million last year, so it would be fair to expect a moderate raise from that amount.
Bauers’ overall numbers were decent this season, but they don’t tell the full story. He entered September with a .653 OPS, slugged his way to a 1.018 OPS in 22 games that month, then went on to put up a .973 OPS with a double and a home run in six postseason games.
That stretch may very well have saved Bauers his spot on the Brewers’ roster, as Andrew Vaughn remains somewhat entrenched as the club’s starting first baseman in the wake of Rhys Hoskins’ free agency departure.
This will be Bauers’ age-30 season, so putting together strong production will be crucial. With a good year, he could earn himself a guaranteed contract next year and a sizable raise to boot, but if he struggles, his ability to stick around in the majors much longer will likely be in doubt.
