Jake Bauers' Massive 2026 Season Results In Receiving Unexpected Qualifying Offer From Brewers

I'm hoping we only did this so that when Jake rejects it we get a compensatory pick. 

I like Bauers but I hope he turns this down.  He has had one good year, and he will be 32. We are going to allocate 15% of our payroll to him?  We could sign Goldschmidt for $5-ish.  We could put Fischer there with Vaughn.  We could sign Ward for almost half that and play him at 1b (a not-great 3b at one point should be able to play 1b).

i don’t get it.

43 minutes ago, izzi said:

I'm hoping we only did this so that when Jake rejects it we get a compensatory pick. 

The team has to be comfortable with paying him to extend the QO.  Like last year with woodruff.  Maybe there will be interest in a multi year deal for him, but if not he is an expensive 1 year bridge to Burke/Fischer.  And with the extra cash from the playoffs this may be a bet Mark A and Matt A may be willing to make - a one year vet salary to keep the position secure while two big prospects continue to develop.  And if another team offer multiple years, he likely takes that and we get a comp pick.  

If he takes it, Vaughn is gone. If he doesn’t then it’s Vaughn and a good minor league lefty option at 1B….and a draft pick.
Great options to have!

1 hour ago, rickh150 said:

If he takes it, Vaughn is gone. If he doesn’t then it’s Vaughn and a good minor league lefty option at 1B….and a draft pick.
Great options to have!

Exactly. This isn’t remotely shocking. If Bauers accepts the QO, there’s a decent chance he’ll earn that salary, and it’s only a one-year commitment. If he turns us down, we get compensation. Easy decision for the Brewers. 

Bauers has made $9.44 million while playing 7 years in MLB.  The QO is $23.15 for one year!

Some people are saying he'll reject it because he'll want more years via a free agent contract. I disagree and think he's changed his shorts 2 or 3 times already. 

If Bauers comes down a little and his numbers are about 75% of what they were this year, some team will give him a 2-year deal after 2027 for no less than $18 million.  That would line up with what the pundits are calling for him to get in free agency this year, about $14 million per year.  However, in my example, he stays one more year with the World Series champs, a place he and his family like alot and he still makes a lot of money.

This is Woodruff #2, where Woodruff literally chuckled (really, I saw the video) when he said it was a super easy decision for him last year.

53 minutes ago, rafa79 said:

 

 where Woodruff literally chuckled (really, I saw the video) 

 

 

As did I when you talked about Bauers having to change his shorts.