MILWAUKEE — In one of the most transformative moves of their offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired 24-year-old All-Star catcher William Contreras from the Atlanta Braves in a three-team deal that sent outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Oakland Athletics.
As confirmed by all three teams on Monday afternoon, the Brewers will also acquire two relievers in righty Joel Payamps and lefty Justin Yeager. This same deal included A’s catcher Sean Murphy heading to the Braves with five different players going back to Oakland.
Contreras, who turns 25 on Christmas Eve, makes for a significant addition to the Brewers’ batting rotation. As first shared by Elisha Twerski on Twitter, Contreras would’ve ranked first on the Brewers in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS) and OPS+ in 2022.
Through 97 games this season, Contreras hit 20 home runs and proved himself as a viable, up-and-coming offensive weapon. He remains under contract through 2027, which affords the Brewers more flexibility when fleshing out a sustainable batting order.
Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold offered the following comments on the deal:
“We are excited to welcome one of the top young catchers in baseball to the Brewers. William adds a power bat to our lineup, was an All-Star last season, and we believe he will only improve going forward. We are also excited to add Joel to our bullpen and a young quality arm in Justin to our farm system.”
In addition to firepower, Contreras brings the Brewers dugout a layer of leadership in the form of Playoff experience. He went to the postseason three times in his young career, appearing in 52 games for the Braves in their 2021 World Series run.
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