To Lock in What He Found Last Summer, Jake Bauers Changed Up His Training Regimen This Winter

After a rough 2024 season, Jake Bauers was non-tendered by the Brewers, and limped back into camp last year as a non-roster invitee. He earned a place with the team, though, and went on to have a strong season—especially down the stretch. He missed five weeks with a shoulder impingement, but after returning in late August, he batted .321/.433/.500 in 67 regular-season plate appearances to close the campaign. In the playoffs, he was 4-for-13 with a double, a home run and a walk. This time around, he and the team agreed to a deal ahead of the non-tender deadline, guaranteeing him $2.7 million.

Bauers said that his time on the injured list in the latter part of the summer afforded him a chance to shift the focus of his conditioning work, which led to his late-season success and inspired a change to his offseason routine.

"I think there was a real emphasis on mobility toward the end of last year, and just making sure I was controlling my body as well as I could, so that was kind of the main focus," Bauers said. Entering the winter, that informed how he worked out. "A lot more focus on functional training, as opposed to just throwing weight on a bar and squatting. A lot of single-leg stuff, stability work, mobility, stuff like that."

Although a California native, Bauers now lives outside Dallas, in the same area as new teammate Jett Williams. He turned to a new trainer, Nick Daley, who helped him develop a plan focused on specialized movements and maximizing the utility of his movements. He's always been an athletic specimen, and a much better mover than most first basemen and corner outfielders. Now, he hopes, he's tapped into a way to better convert that athleticism into consistent on-field value.

The Brewers have bought in. Though Andrew Vaughn and Bauers won't play in a platoon—that would marginalize the righty-batting Vaughn too much—Pat Murphy is enthusiastic about Bauers's value and expects him to play more in 2026 than he did last season. Despite the team's apparent logjam in the outfield, Murphy emphasized the versatility Bauers brings as a left fielder, in addition to first base. That could come into play especially prominently if (as seems increasingly plausible) Jackson Chourio ends up spending significant time in center field again this year. Bauers is preparing to play both positions.

"I think the second you assume something—assume you might not get out there—I've found that to be exactly the moment you do end up in the outfield," he said. "So I'm trying to stay ready for whatever it is."

Both Bauers and Murphy said the lefty slugger will play some outfield in the coming days, which works just fine for the Brewers. With Chourio away for the World Baseball Classic and both Brandon Lockridge and Jett Williams slowed by injuries, there's playing time available out there.

Of course, Bauers's main job is to hit. That's where his improved body control will be most important, because he already has ample explosiveness. He owns the best bat speed on the team, and his average swing speed increased substantially last season. At the same time, as part of a more patient approach, he let the ball travel a bit deeper into the hitting zone before contact, reducing his likelihood of whiffing. It was a major change, although a subtle one, and his hope is that a winter of work focused on the aspects of his movement that are most essential to it will result in similar results to what he managed late last year. If so, the Brewers will find a lot of plate appearances for him. His could be the unexpected slugging that infuses this year's seemingly underpowered with its missing ingredient.