Pratt signs extension for 8/$50M

[endaround]

So it starts this year? So the Brewers gained zero extra control out side the option years, had to guarantee Pratt's salary, paid $20 million more than similar players made through 7 years, and he can now be locked out next spring.

[sveumrules]

16 minutes ago, endaround said:

So it starts this year? So the Brewers gained zero extra control out side the option years, had to guarantee Pratt's salary, paid $20 million more than similar players made through 7 years, and he can now be locked out next spring.

Eight year deal should buy out at least one free agent year before the option years.

2026-29: pre-arb
2030-32: arby 
2033-35: free agent

[endaround]

15 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Eight year deal should buy out at least one free agent year before the option years.

2026-29: pre-arb
2030-32: arby 
2033-35: free agent

Only if you assume he was going to make it to Milwaukee this year.

It was:

Minimum contract:

2027 (brought up two weeks into season whenever that is (assuming he is even ready))

2028

2029

Arbitraion

2030

2031

2032

2033

 

 

 

[Outlander]

If he turns out good that is what you want, maybe one more option year if that was on the table. He is 31 after the 2035 season, decline years after that. Perhaps the risk isn't worth two free agent years but wish they had two more year with Brice Turang right now and they will be paying him more than $50 million if he sticks around through 2029.

[Jopal78]

56 minutes ago, endaround said:

So it starts this year? So the Brewers gained zero extra control out side the option years, had to guarantee Pratt's salary, paid $20 million more than similar players made through 7 years, and he can now be locked out next spring.

Max Kepler got 10 million dollars last winter, and Carlos Santana got 12 million dollars. Adolis Garcia got 10 million this winter. 
 

When non-difference making free agents are making 10-12 million per year, is there a downside to a team paying more up front to secure a couple of club option years on a player they really like and have high expectations for?

[sveumrules]

34 minutes ago, endaround said:

Only if you assume he was going to make it to Milwaukee this year.

The Brewers signing him to this extension at this time is a pretty good indicator what kind of timeline they probably had/have in mind.

[tmwiese55]

39 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Max Kepler got 10 million dollars last winter, and Carlos Santana got 12 million dollars. Adolis Garcia got 10 million this winter. 
 

When non-difference making free agents are making 10-12 million per year, is there a downside to a team paying more up front to secure a couple of club option years on a player they really like and have high expectations for?

In addition, keep in mind another 7ish years of inflation on those type of deals.   I guess that should apply in general to this whole deal with it being so long, the numbers we are all accustomed to now will all be up 15-25% in another 7-10 years. 

[thebruce44]

On 4/1/2026 at 4:54 PM, rickh150 said:

My issueS plural with this are more about the domino effect…from one possible disgruntled employee to another.

Contreras- “They are being cheap with me over $1-2 million so they can hand $50 mil to a kid that might be good when I’m outta here?

Ortiz- “I guess my days are really numbered “NOW.”

Frelick- “Good to see they are paying our 3rd or 4th best minor league SS 50 times more than I’m making this year.”

Made- “What position am I crafting to get good at again? SS? Really?

Pena- “What team will I be traded to? hmmm….

Fair or foul, human nature says this will breed a few issues that Murphy will not want in his clubhouse.  I also don’t think the Brewers are doing themselves any favors long term by driving up the price of these deals for unproven players. 

This isn't The Real Housewives of Milwaukee. These guys know how the business works, especially with respect to Arby negotiations for Contreras. If anything, I'd think they are excited for Pratt.

[pitchleague]

Wouldn’t it be something if they made this deal only to trade him at the deadline in a complete blockbuster deal to go out and try to win the World Series?

I had mentioned in the bold predictions thread that I thought Pratt would get traded at the deadline but I now think that’s doubtful.  But what if, you know???

[torts]

4 minutes ago, pitchleague said:

Wouldn’t it be something if they made this deal only to trade him at the deadline in a complete blockbuster deal to go out and try to win the World Series?

I had mentioned in the bold predictions thread that I thought Pratt would get traded at the deadline but I now think that’s doubtful.  But what if, you know???

[homer]

Is there any data on how much an average contract changes with each new deal between players and ownership?

[wallus]

Not seeing this discussed a whole lot but does this contract mean we will see him soon? Before September? Or is it likely next season?

[rickh150]

5 hours ago, thebruce44 said:

This isn't The Real Housewives of Milwaukee. These guys know how the business works, especially with respect to Arby negotiations for Contreras. If anything, I'd think they are excited for Pratt.

Excited? Maybe kinda glad or pleased for him. Sure. Friendly guy and good for him thoughts…. I can see that.

But we’re talking about some very highly rated prospects in Made and Peña getting the rug pulled out from underneath them. There is no regular SS time being projected NOW in Milwaukee for either. I think that would make Made especially concerned about the team’s plans for him.  And if I’m him, I’d question why they would put me at SS to start  almost any minor league game now.  

Just a very different kind of deal….the Brewers didn’t need to pay any meaningful $ for any infielder for the next 6-8 years. They are so deep and could keep Made/Pena down for 2-3 years.  Yet they drop $50 mil on their 3rd or 4th best SS now while he hasn’t proven that he can hit AA pitching.  I know the Brewers are good at evaluating talent.  But this seems unneeded and maybe even problematic with other IF on the rise in the organization.

We obviously like the Chourio deal and I hope to come to like this one too.  Just odd. Almost as odd as dropping $22 mil on Woodruff to maybe pitch 100 IP this year throwing 91 MPH fastballs on a reconstructed shoulder. I’d rather spend the $72 million Woodruff/Pratt  money on traded for players or extensions to current players.
 

 

 

[brewcrewdue80]

Let's watch this clip from MLB as they announced Milw's 6th rd selection.  Then listen to the gushing remark to explain the upside seen.https://www.mlb.com/video/brewers-draft-ss-pratt-no-182

 

 

Yeah that hmm former #1

[Jopal78]

7 hours ago, rickh150 said:

Excited? Maybe kinda glad or pleased for him. Sure. Friendly guy and good for him thoughts…. I can see that.

But we’re talking about some very highly rated prospects in Made and Peña getting the rug pulled out from underneath them. There is no regular SS time being projected NOW in Milwaukee for either. I think that would make Made especially concerned about the team’s plans for him.  And if I’m him, I’d question why they would put me at SS to start  almost any minor league game now.  

Just a very different kind of deal….the Brewers didn’t need to pay any meaningful $ for any infielder for the next 6-8 years. They are so deep and could keep Made/Pena down for 2-3 years.  Yet they drop $50 mil on their 3rd or 4th best SS now while he hasn’t proven that he can hit AA pitching.  I know the Brewers are good at evaluating talent.  But this seems unneeded and maybe even problematic with other IF on the rise in the organization.

We obviously like the Chourio deal and I hope to come to like this one too.  Just odd. Almost as odd as dropping $22 mil on Woodruff to maybe pitch 100 IP this year throwing 91 MPH fastballs on a reconstructed shoulder. I’d rather spend the $72 million Woodruff/Pratt  money on traded for players or extensions to current players.
 

 

 

What if Made and Pena already turned down their overtures? In fact, entirely plausible, how would that cut against your theory?

You have also overlooked the relevant fact that the Brewers intentionally seek out up the middle players because of their versatility to move to other spots. For example Turang mostly played SS in the minors but has appeared there just 25 times in the majors out of 400+ games. 

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

7 hours ago, rickh150 said:

Excited? Maybe kinda glad or pleased for him. Sure. Friendly guy and good for him thoughts…. I can see that.

But we’re talking about some very highly rated prospects in Made and Peña getting the rug pulled out from underneath them. There is no regular SS time being projected NOW in Milwaukee for either. I think that would make Made especially concerned about the team’s plans for him.  And if I’m him, I’d question why they would put me at SS to start  almost any minor league game now.  

Just a very different kind of deal….the Brewers didn’t need to pay any meaningful $ for any infielder for the next 6-8 years. They are so deep and could keep Made/Pena down for 2-3 years.  Yet they drop $50 mil on their 3rd or 4th best SS now while he hasn’t proven that he can hit AA pitching.  I know the Brewers are good at evaluating talent.  But this seems unneeded and maybe even problematic with other IF on the rise in the organization.

We obviously like the Chourio deal and I hope to come to like this one too.  Just odd. Almost as odd as dropping $22 mil on Woodruff to maybe pitch 100 IP this year throwing 91 MPH fastballs on a reconstructed shoulder. I’d rather spend the $72 million Woodruff/Pratt  money on traded for players or extensions to current players.
 

 

 

Agreed Rick.  Turang has proven things, and Pratt (while he has potential), could be another Arcia or Escobar (all glove no bat players that the Brewers were high on).

I would have much rather bought out two FA years from Turang.  I know it looks like he’ll break the bank on 2030, but it would have been nice keep him longer.  I get that both sides needed to be interested to make that happen.

We still have a disaster at 3B, and we w likely will have some need at 1B and in the outfield, so if Pena and/or Made have a special bat, plenty of places to play.  We just don’t need 3x “glove first” SS on our MLB roster

 

[Frisbee Slider]

3 minutes ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

Turang has proven things, and Pratt (while he has potential), could be another Arcia or Escobar (all glove no bat players that the Brewers were high on).

I would have much rather bought out two FA years from Turang.  I know it looks like he’ll break the bank on 2030, but it would have been nice keep him longer.  I get that both sides needed to be interested to make that happen.

By the time a player is proven and low risk, they probably no longer are interested in an extension or at least one Milwaukee can afford. Peralta, Ashby and Chourio were all extended early.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

29 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

By the time a player is proven and low risk, they probably no longer are interested in an extension or at least one Milwaukee can afford. Peralta, Ashby and Chourio were all extended early.

Maybe this is where the game can/should change for the better.  Earlier arby eligibility, but longer team control.

arby eligible beginning year 3 in the majors (no more manipulation to delay this, if you play any part of 2 years, you’re automatically eligible in the third year), but then team control through 8 years.

would create more incentive for both sides to reach long term deals.  I personally believe the sport would increase in value if there was greater player continuity. It would also weaken the advantage that places like LA have (though I guess their leverage in the international market is still there)

 

[Frisbee Slider]

3 minutes ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

I personally believe the sport would increase in value if there was greater player continuity

I like the ideas you shared. I personally think player continuity is a myth or overvalued across all major sports. I only follow baseball but my perception is aside from just a few franchise players, a meaningful percentage of NBA and NFL rosters turnover each year. 

Every year there are hundreds of new players being drafted and joining the pool of available talent. Why worry about keeping the same players for nearly a decade?

New players play well and become new fan favorites after a short while.

[homer]

9 hours ago, rickh150 said:

Excited? Maybe kinda glad or pleased for him. Sure. Friendly guy and good for him thoughts…. I can see that.

But we’re talking about some very highly rated prospects in Made and Peña getting the rug pulled out from underneath them. There is no regular SS time being projected NOW in Milwaukee for either. I think that would make Made especially concerned about the team’s plans for him.  And if I’m him, I’d question why they would put me at SS to start  almost any minor league game now.  

What, exactly, is the problem? That they will be disgruntled? That this will hamper their development? Iron sharpens iron.

[Underachiever]

Ultimately the only thing that these players can do is play well to earn that FA money. Contreras knows he has a big payday coming if he keeps performing, not if he mopes over Pratt and the guarantee he got. Pro athletes manufacture disrespect at every turn to motivate themselves (see Rodgers, Aaron).

[markedman5]

Turang came up as a shortstop……..was the rug pulled out from under him when they traded for Joey and made him the SS? Seems to have worked out fine for Brice.

Guys change positions all the time…….Chourio was signed as a SS……Peña and Made already knew they both weren’t going to be playing SS for the Brewers. Peña was never projected to stick at Short……and if Made gets better defensively who knows how it will play out down the road?

This is much to do about nothing IMO

They want to be in the majors…….Ashby preferred starting…..stuff happened….now he’s a reliever and doing fine even though he still prefers starting. 

[sveumrules]

11 hours ago, rickh150 said:

But we’re talking about some very highly rated prospects in Made and Peña getting the rug pulled out from underneath them. There is no regular SS time being projected NOW in Milwaukee for either.

Almost as odd as dropping $22 mil on Woodruff to maybe pitch 100 IP this year throwing 91 MPH fastballs on a reconstructed shoulder. I’d rather spend the $72 million Woodruff/Pratt  money on traded for players or extensions to current players.

How does this pull the rug out from underneath Made or Pena? If anything the Chourio and Pratt extensions should give them extra motivation to perform well if they are interested in signing pre-debut extensions when their time comes.

Pratt will likely get first crack at SS in MIL out of the three, but that doesn't preclude him from moving to 3B or 2B if one of Jesus or Luis push the issue with their own performance down the road.

That $72M isn't getting them anywhere with Contreras or Turang or Misio, and they are the only players on the MLB roster really worth exploring extensions with. I guess they could have locked up Uribe with some of that money instead but I feel like I remember you thinking the 4/35 remaining on Ashby was too rich for the Brewers blood.

Woodruff threw 106 IP last year between ramping up in the minors and his MLB work, so there's a pretty decent chance he should exceed that total this year. Since his return to MLB he has 69.2 IP of 78 ERA- | 82 FIP- and has averaged 93.1 MPH on his fastball. You're selling one of the best SP in franchise history short on numerous fronts.

[CheezWizHed]

I was curious how Pratt's extension might compare to his theoretical path through arbitration.  So I compiled a list of shortstops that have been in arbitration over the past 5 years (AI technically, so I'm sure I've missed a few players, but have enough of a sample to be in the ballpark).  I calculated their Average WAR/year (this I did by hand) so I could put them in MIN, MID, and MAX tiers. 0-2 WAR=MIN, 2.1-4 = MID, 4.1+=MAX. 

So that gives me a potential list of salaries for Pratt if he takes one of those three paths.  For the "normal" path, I assumed he would be in AAA this year and gave him a max AAA salary. Then for the FA year, I dumped what was left of the $50.75M "budget" (his contract amount) to see how good of a deal this would be.  

I used a 2% inflation for all numbers (salary and cost of WAR) to project out for 7 years.  So, for today's FA cost of $8M/WAR, I used about $9.2M.

Year	Min	Mid	Max	Cooper MLB
AAA	$         100,000	$         100,000	$         100,000	$     6,343,750
1	$         839,041	$         839,041	$         839,041	$     6,343,750
2	$     1,226,831	$     1,226,831	$     1,226,831	$     6,343,750
3	$     1,458,906	$     1,458,906	$     1,458,906	$     6,343,750
Arb 1	$     3,301,418	$     4,266,587	$     9,728,359	$     6,343,750
Arb 2	$     4,897,288	$     9,605,503	$  20,228,099	$     6,343,750
Arb 3	$     5,743,428	$  11,332,009	$  23,649,411	$     6,343,750
FA 1	$  33,183,087	$  21,921,122	$  (6,480,647)	$     6,343,750
WAR	3.6	2.4	-0.7

So there are 4 main outcomes:

1. Total Bust: Cooper doesn't even make it to Arbitration.  This obviously is the worst-case scenario, but Cooper's defense keeps his floor high, so this is probably unlikely. But a Brewer Failure if that happens.
2. Min player: Here we are holding on to a SS that averages 0-2.0 WAR/year, and we chose to give him $33M in FA and hope he makes 3.6 WAR that year. This would be Joey Ortiz.  Another Brewer Failure.
3. Mid Player: Now we have a SS that is giving us 2-4WAR/year.  A one-year contract for $22M means we expect 2.4 WAR.  This would be like signing Willy Adames for one more year. This feels like a break-even point, so I'll count this as a Brewer WIN. 
4. Max Player: Clearly, what everyone is hoping for.  The script flips a bit in this row and the Brewers have actually saved $6.5M through arbitration and get a FA year for "free".  You have a 4+ WAR SS (like Gunnar Henderson) and saved money in the meantime.  Brewer victory. 

So what is the verdict?  I'm pretty sure the Brewers are confident that Cooper won't be a bust (as am I).  Being a max player is possible... but that one seems unlikely (though I'll bet on the MAX over being a Bust).  So if the most likely outcomes are Min or Mid for Cooper, it seems like a pretty good contract for Cooper and just "ok" for the Brewers. 

If Cooper is a high defensive SS with a light stick (his floor IMO), that is a clear win for Cooper.  If he is average, he is going to be paid just a hair less than the market rate for his FA year.  Not much of a risk on his part. 

Caveat: I'm not sure if 2% is a great MLB inflation number (probably not).  If salaries grow more than that, the trend will make the Brewer's decision look better in all outcomes. 

[cragi]

25 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

 

Caveat: I'm not sure if 2% is a great MLB inflation number (probably not).  If salaries grow more than that, the trend will make the Brewer's decision look better in all outcomes. 

yeah that popped out at me as i was reading through it. try an inflation number of 5+% and curious to see those results instead. though historically, 2% is fair.

Also, the win-win of this for both sides is that it motivates the Brewers to bring up sooner rather than later. He could lose a year waiting around otherwise. i think they are looking at serious inflation plus getting him up sooner