Three teams and almost two years later, Josh Hader finally got the monster contract he was seeking, a five-year, $95 million deal from the Houston Astros.
It was money the Milwaukee Brewers never would have spent on a closer, especially since they already had all-star Devin Williams in place.
So, on Aug. 1, 2022, they traded Hader to the San Diego Padres in a widely panned deal that more than likely cost them a postseason berth.
“Anytime you make a decision like that, they’re challenging for the franchise and for everyone involved because of how much Josh meant to everyone here,” said general manager Matt Arnold. “But we did it for the right reasons.”
Put another way, to try to keep the Brewers competitive for the long term.
It’s a decision that’s looking awfully savvy now thanks to some additional deft maneuvering by the Brewers’ front office, which a little more than four months later flipped one of the three players acquired for Hader – outfielder Esteury Ruiz – for three others.
The crown jewel, of course, was William Contreras, who enters this weekend’s series against Hader and the Astros at Minute Maid Park having played in all 43 games, reached base in a career-best 23 straight games and in general has performed like the best all-around catcher in the game.
“We felt like we had a chance to get a frontline catcher who’d already established himself as an all-star,” said Arnold of the three-team deal that also brought right-hander Joel Payamps and minor-league righty Justin Yeager to Milwaukee.
And then there’s also left-hander Robert Gasser, acquired in the original Hader trade and off to a 2-0 start to his major-league career.
“At this point he’s probably a borderline MVP candidate, honestly,” Arnold said of Contreras. “He’s playing outstanding, so enormous credit to him and our staff for identifying him as a guy that we felt like could help us for years to come.”
William Contreras made an immediate impact with Brewers
Indeed, Contreras, now 26, came to the Brewers with a pedigree.
The younger brother of longtime Milwaukee tormentor Willson Contreras, he was coming off a season in which he hit .278 with 20 home runs, 45 runs batted in and an OPS of .860 as only a part-time player on an immensely talented Atlanta Braves team.
Moving over to his new team, Contreras would immediately slot in as the everyday catcher – and flourish.
He set career highs in virtually every offensive category with a .289 average, 38 doubles, 17 homers and 78 runs batted in and rated among the best backstops in the game defensively in several key metrics.
It all added up to an 11th-place finish in balloting for the National League Most Valuable Player Award, a Silver Slugger Award (first for a catcher in franchise history) and recognition as the Brewers’ team MVP as voted by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
“You see it right away,” said run prevention coordinator Walker McKinven, who’s probably worked more closely with Contreras since the team acquired him than any other coach. “He’s obviously a physical dude, and he’s very, very serious about his work. He wants to get it done, and he wants to do it very, very well.
“He goes hard – even off the field. It’s amazing, it really is.”
Showing his durability
How to set the bar even higher? Try to play every day, for starters.
While it’s highly unlikely Contreras will be able to get to 162 games, the ability to log starts at designated hitter with another decorated backstop in Gary Sánchez able to fill in behind the plate should help save on some of the typical wear and tear he’d experience.
Following Wednesday’s 10-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Contreras and shortstop Willy Adames have each started all 43 games for the Brewers. That’s the longest streak to start a season by Milwaukee teammates since Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun both started the first 56 games in 2011.
“I know that I haven’t taken a day off yet,” said Contreras, whose split so far is 35 starts at catcher and eight at DH. “We’ve gotten to this point in the season and I’m playing pretty well and feeling really good, so I don’t think I’m ready for that day off yet. I come to the stadium every day and get my body ready to play and go out there and play the game.
“Maybe down the line there’ll be a day off.”
Added McKinven: “The Contreras brothers are built a little different. They’re just they’re tough as hell. They work their tails off.”
Contreras is built more like an NFL running back at 5-foot-11 and 212 pounds and extremely athletic for his position (double-digit stolen bases aren’t out of the realm of possibility) so if he’s able to remain healthy, playing most every day would appear to be a realistic goal.
‘Contreras is out of his mind’
And so far, no one can argue with the numbers Contreras is putting up.
He has been Milwaukee’s most consistent offensive threat with a .359 average (second in the majors behind only Shohei Ohtani’s .363), 20 extra-base hits (including six homers), 34 RBI (tied for fifth in the majors) and OPS of .987 (tied for fifth in the majors).
Contreras has reached base in 40 of his 43 games and his 23-game streak is the longest in the majors currently. Over those 23 games, he’s batting .364 with eight doubles, a triple, two homers, 14 RBI, 21 runs scored and 13 walks.
“Contreras is out of his mind,” manager Pat Murphy said after Contreras fell a double shy of a cycle Wednesday. “It’s epic, what he’s doing. Like, every at-bat. He’s killing it right now.”
Defensively, Contreras’s pitch framing hasn’t been as good as last season (minus-2 runs) but he’s blocking the ball well once again and with eight baserunners caught stealing is already halfway to his 2023 total in one-third the innings (313).
Game-calling receives praise
Where Contreras has really upped his game and been receiving rave reviews is his game-calling. Rarely a day goes by that Murphy doesn’t tip his cap to Contreras for maximizing the talents of Milwaukee’s injury plagued staff, and it’s a trait that has earned the Puerto Cabello, Venezuela native kudos throughout the organization as well.
“We have full trust in him,” said McKinven. “We give him the information, but we also give him the freedom because he’s so good back there with his feel for the hitter, feel for the pitcher on the mound for us and and just his feel for the game and where it’s at. We have just this this ultimate confidence in him.
“Pitchers want to throw to him. We want him behind the plate. We live and die with the decisions he makes back there. And that’s a good feeling from a coaching staff perspective and specifically from someone who has a large hand in the game planning and how we pitch certain guys.”
Arnold also loves the intangibles Contreras brings to the table. He even goes all out in his celebratory high fives, a lesson Arnold joked he learned the hard way once when Contreras unleashed one on him.
“William, in terms of what he does, it’s hard to measure when it comes to game prep and working with our pitchers, his catch-and-throw ability and everything you don’t necessarily see on the on the back of the baseball card,” he said. “He’s just grown immensely in all those facets in a way that makes him even more valuable than you can measure.”
Aside from the obvious physical ability and production Contreras brings to the table, he’s also an absolute bargain with a salary of only $766,900. Contreras isn’t arbitration eligible until 2025 – he’s just two years’ service time with 337 games to his credit – and won’t hit free agency until 2028, which would seemingly make him a prime extension target for the Brewers.
“I’m always open to those kinds of things,” Arnold said. “We’ve been able to do that in select situations and certainly he would be one of the types of players that you’d want to consider for that, absolutely. He’s put himself in that position as a player of his caliber.”
It takes two to tango, however, and when asked about the topic several weeks ago Contreras said there had been no discussions on that front to that point.
“I’m not interested in that,” he said. “I’m here playing my game, and I know my time is going to come.”
Best catcher in baseball?
Admittedly biased, McKinven said it’s his opinion Contreras is currently the best catcher in the game. Also on the short list would be Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals and JT Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies.
What does Contreras himself think?
“I don’t know,” he said. “There’s so many good guys now, I don’t have an idea.”
Contreras was asked if he was being modest.
“Like I said, too many guys,” he said. “I don’t know who’s the best catcher in baseball. I don’t want to hear too much about that because I want to stay focused.”
Switching gears slightly, Contreras was offered the opportunity to confirm he’s better than his brother, currently on the injured list with the St. Louis Cardinals after suffering a broken forearm in a freak play last week.
“I don’t know,” he said, cracking a smile. “We’re both really good players and we always compete for everything.”
It’s a fun conversation to have for the Brewers, who haven’t had a catcher of this caliber since the days of Jonathan Lucroy save for the all-star season they got out of Yasmani Grandal in 2019.
Then there’s the somewhat unexpected contributions of Payamps, previously a career journeyman who quickly assumed a high-leverage role in the back end of the Brewers’ bullpen and is 8-6 with a 3.01 ERA, WHIP of 1.10, seven saves and 31 holds in 84 appearances.
Gasser, who turns 25 on May 31, is the Brewers’ second-best pitching prospect and has helped solidify a patchwork rotation that’s been hit hard by injury.
All in all, it’s been quite the haul for Milwaukee, which no doubt is hoping Hader – 2-3 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 18 appearances – remains off his game for another weekend.
As for Ruiz, he’s hitting .216 for the Oakland A’s. Last season he led the American League with 67 stolen bases but hit just .254 and was dinged for an incredible minus-20 defensive runs saved in the outfield.
“I think on the Brewers’ end it was a good business decision,” said Contreras. “Hader was going into free agency (after the 2023 season). The Brewers got me in the package and there were some other good players that ended up coming over here in turn from the deal.”
