Brewers star Jake Bauers eyes Silver Slugger history with $23 million offer

Jake Bauers is uniquely positioned to make Silver Slugger history as nominations arrive.

Just two years ago, Bauers re-signed with the Milwaukee Brewers on a minor league deal.

Now, he is an NLCS MVP and a World Series champion.

And he is a finalist for not one, but two Silver Slugger awards.

FanSided announced the finalists for this year’s Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger awards.

Bauers’ name appears twice on the list.

He is a finalist for the NL Silver Slugger award at first base.

His competition there includes Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves, Alec Burleson of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Rafael Devers of the San Francisco Giants.

Bauers also earned a nod at the utility position.

Because he spent time at both a corner outfield position and first base, he qualifies as a “utility player” under Louisville Slugger’s criteria.

At utility, he will face Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres and Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds.

Only one player in MLB history has ever won two Silver Slugger awards in a single season.

That player is J.D. Martinez.

Martinez won the AL DH and an AL OF Silver Slugger award as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 2018.

Bauers could become the second.

His 2026 season makes the argument plausible.

Bauers posted a .266/.389/.484 batting line.

He hit 26 home runs in 578 plate appearances.

Those 26 home runs accounted for nearly 17 percent of Milwaukee’s total home runs.

His .873 OPS is the best in a single season by a qualified Brewers hitter since Christian Yelich posted a 1.100 OPS in 2019.

Bauers ranked in the 83rd percentile in expected slugging percentage.

He ranked in the 91st percentile in average exit velocity.

He ranked in the 93rd percentile in chase rate.

He ranked in the 98th percentile in walk rate.

Those are elite numbers.

Against his fellow first base finalists, Bauers trails in most counting stats — home runs, RBIs, doubles.

Olson crushed 41 homers and 34 doubles to Bauers’ 26 and 22.

But Bauers bested all of them in on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

He trails only Burleson in batting average.

That is a tough argument to sell when Olson’s raw power numbers are so much higher.

But there is at least a path to victory for the Brewers’ left-handed slugger.

The utility award is probably a better opportunity for Bauers to add some silver.

His postseason performance only added to his case.

Bauers came through with some of the most important at-bats of the postseason.

His overall postseason OPS was .622.

But he delivered a memorable NLCS home run against Blake Snell.

That home run helped carry the Brewers to a World Series title.

Now, the Brewers face a decision of their own.

Milwaukee tendered Bauers a qualifying offer for the 2027 season.

The offer is worth just over $23 million.

That is a massive raise from the $2.7 million Bauers made in 2026.

Bauers has until Nov. 17 to decide whether to accept or decline.

If he accepts, he plays 2027 in Milwaukee on a one-year deal.

If he declines and signs a multi-year deal elsewhere, the Brewers receive a draft pick as compensation.

Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly predicted that Bauers will accept the offer.

“Contract Prediction: Accepts one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer,” Kelly wrote.

“Team Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers. … The qualifying offer might suppress Bauers’ market enough that he winds up back in Milwaukee. The Brewers are likely content either way. If he leaves, they still have Andrew Vaughn at first base and will collect draft-pick compensation because he declined the qualifying offer. If he takes the offer, though, they get to retain a playoff hero.”

That is one prediction.

It does not guarantee what Bauers will do.

It is realistic that he could simply cash in on the one-year deal.

It is a big raise, and 2026 was the best season of his career.

If he can have a similar season in 2027, he would set himself up to get even more money next year in free agency.

And next year, no qualifying offer would be attached to him.

That means a team would not lose a draft pick by signing him.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand listed a few different potential landing spots for Bauers.

Milwaukee was unsurprisingly one of them.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield gave Milwaukee fans some hope.

Schoenfield said to expect the Brewers to “make a run” at keeping Bauers.

Tendering the qualifying offer is a step in that direction.

Last year, the Brewers tendered the qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff.