William Contreras

Three Seasons in Atlanta

Contreras was born on December 24, 1997, in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Fox Sports lists him as undrafted. He spent his first three seasons with the Braves. In the last of them, 2022, he hit .278 with 20 home runs and 45 RBIs in just under 100 games and made the All-Star team.

The Esteury Ruiz Trade

The Brewers acquired him in a three-team trade with Atlanta and Oakland, announced on December 12, 2022. Milwaukee also received right-hander Joel Payamps from Oakland and right-hander Justin Yeager from Atlanta, and sent outfielder Esteury Ruiz to Oakland. The Associated Press, looking back on the deal in 2026, wrote that Contreras came with Payamps and that Ruiz was the only player Milwaukee gave up. Its account does not mention Yeager.

Fifth in the 2024 MVP Vote

In 2023, his first season in Milwaukee, he played 141 games and hit .289 with a .367 on-base percentage, 17 home runs, and 78 RBIs. The next year he hit .281 with a .365 on-base percentage, and his totals rose to 23 home runs and 92 RBIs. He was an All-Star again in 2024 and finished fifth in National League MVP voting.

His 2025 numbers fell to .260, a .355 on-base percentage, 17 home runs, and 76 RBIs. He played 150 games that year with a fractured left middle finger.

The Arbitration Hearing in Scottsdale

Contreras and the Brewers settled his salary at the edge of arbitration two winters in a row. On January 31, 2025, with Contreras asking for $6.5 million and the team offering $5.6 million, they agreed to a one-year deal guaranteeing $6.1 million: a $6 million salary, plus a $12 million option for 2026 with a $100,000 buyout. The Brewers declined that option.

The second deal came on February 12, 2026, just before a hearing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He had requested $9.9 million and the team had offered $8.55 million. They agreed on $9.4 million for one year, with a $14.5 million team option for 2027. That option converts to a mutual option if he finishes fourth or better in the 2026 National League MVP voting. The Associated Press had him on track for free agency after the 2027 World Series.

185 Challenges and the Dodgers Series

Contreras won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March 2026, USA Today reported. In the regular season he made 185 automated ball-strike challenges and won 105, both MLB highs by the same report, for a Brewers team that won 103 games.

Manager Pat Murphy, quoted by CBS Sports, pressed his catcher's case during the playoffs: "If people aren't noticing Contreras, like he was maybe the MVP of the Dodgers series. It should have been co-MVPS."

In Game 1 of the World Series, a 3-2 win over the Rays, Contreras threw out two runners. CBS Sports credited him at that point with 13 challenges in the postseason, the most of any catcher. Speaking through a team translator, he said, according to CBS Sports: "I think in today's game I took defense over offense," and "God was able to gift me that one today, a complete game on both sides. But my goal is to go out there and find a way to win the game, whether that be offensively or defensively."

Sources

• William Contreras named World Series MVP after leading Brewers to first title - Yahoo Sports
• How William Contreras, the MVP of this Brewers playoff run, is commanding the game from every angle - CBS Sports
• Catcher William Contreras, Brewers reach $9.4 million, 1-year deal just before arbitration hearing
• Brewers' William Contreras agrees to $6.1M deal, avoids arbitration | FOX6 Milwaukee
• Brewers trade for catcher William Contreras
• William Contreras Biography - ESPN
• William Contreras Height, Weight, Age, College, Nationality, Position, Bio - MLB | FOX Sports