Jun 15, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; General view of the Milwaukee Brewers logo on seating within American Family Field prior to the game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Brewers Insider Floats Nightmare Trade Scenario For Milwaukee Fans

Originally posted on Milwaukee Brewers on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Oct 30, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers are known for trading away star players, which is a tough reputation for some fans to stomach. But some hypothetical moves would go a bridge too far.

In years past, big names like Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams were shipped out of Milwaukee. This winter, starting pitcher Freddy Peralta will hear his name in trade rumors constantly, because he's a year away from free agency, like those three were as well (technically, Hader was a year and a half away).

A lot of fans would be upset about trading Peralta after the year he just had. But those same fans would be positively apoplectic about losing Peralta's star battery mate.

Could William Contreras trade be on the table?

On Thursday, Brewers insider Adam McCalvy of MLB.com floated the possibility of the team shipping off catcher William Contreras with two years to go on his contract, noting that Milwaukee has a big-league-ready catching prospect waiting in the wings.

"Other possible trade chips include All-Star closer Trevor Megill, who has two years of club control remaining, and, if they're absolutely bowled over by an offer, Contreras.," McCalvy wrote. "The All-Star catcher is controllable for 2026 and ‘27 before reaching free agency.

"The Brewers are likely to go into next season with No. 4 prospect Jeferson Quero as Contreras’ backup behind the plate. And if he can avoid the sort of injuries that plagued the past two seasons, Quero looks like a solid player for the future."

To be clear, it's not as though McCalvy is suggesting that the Brewers are actively thinking about trading Contreras. But doing so could set them back years, and the very notion that it could be on the table under any scenario has to make a lot of folks nervous.

Outside of American League Most Valuable Player candidate Cal Raleigh, you could make a strong case that Contreras is the most important catcher to any team in the big leagues. He's a massive piece of Milwaukee's offensive identity, and has been an above-average defender behind the dish while handling more and more of a workload every season.

At age 27 (28 in December), Contreras isn't the player you trade -- you still have to exhaust all possibilities of signing him to an extension. And even if they can't lock him up, the Brewers setting the precedent of trading their pieces with two years of control left instead of one would be the true sign that they were beginning to operate like the league's smallest-market teams.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Brewers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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