Brewers’ Payroll Nears Record Level After Reaching Agreements With Nine Players Ahead Of Arbitration Deadline

The Milwaukee Brewers’ 2022 payroll picture is starting to come into focus after the team reached agreement with nine arbitration-eligible players on one-year deals worth a combined $31 million ahead of a Tuesday deadline for teams and players to reach agreement or exchange salary figures.

The group includes left-handed closer Josh Hader, who will earn $11 million according to a report from MLB.com‘s Mark Feinsand who also reported a $6.8 million deal for right-handed starter Brandon Woodruff and $6.5 million for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.

Milwaukee also reached agreements with catcher Omar Narvaez, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, infielders Willy Adames and Luis Urias, and left-handed pitchers Eric Lauer and Brent Suter.

One player, right-handed starter Adrian Houser, remains unsigned. He and the team were unable to reach an agreement and instead, exchanged figures that will be decided during an arbitration hearing in April or May.

Houser, 29, is arbitration-eligible for the first time is likely to see a significant raise from the $584,100 he earned last year according to Spotrac.com after going 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 28 appearances (26 starts).

Ideally, teams and players work out these issues during the offseason and reach agreements prior to camp opening with those unable to do so having hearings early in Spring Training. The lockout made such negotiations impossible this winter and, as a result, hearings won’t be held until after the season has gotten underway.

With the signings, the Brewers’ 2022 payroll stands at $112,424,960 according to Spotrac.com data, a significant increase from last season when Milwaukee began the year with an $81 million and ended the season with $103 million on the books.

Outfielder Christian Yelich leads the team with a $26 million salary as the seven-year, $215 extension he signed in 2020 takes effect. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain will earn $18 million in the final season of the five-year $80 million deal he signed in January 2018 while Hader’s new deal gives him the third-highest salary on Milwaukee’s roster this season, $3.5 million more than Andrew McCutchen will earn under the one-year contract he signed with the Brewers last week.

As it stands, Milwaukee is poised to open the season with the second-largest Opening Day payroll in franchise history. The Brewers began the 2019 season with $122,530,400 in salaries.