Reds would be wise to avoid Brewers’ favorite trick by staying away from William Contreras

With Tyler Stephenson scheduled to become a free agent in the next month, the Cincinnati Reds will soon be in the market for a new catcher. Milwaukee Brewers backstop William Contreras could be an intriguing trade candidate, but the Reds must avoid the temptation to play those types of games with their division rivals from Wisconsin.

The Brewers are on the verge of winning their first ever World Series championship and Contreras has been at the center of their success. The Brewers' starting catcher is a three-time All-Star, but his performance during the postseason has elevated his status to another level.

Contreras will be entering his final year under contract with the Brewers next season. He signed a one-year deal this past spring that included a team-option for 2027. But Contreras still has less than six years of service time, so even if Milwaukee declines the option, he's still under team control for one more season.

As the Brewers often do, don't be shocked if Milwaukee plans to shop their star catcher this winter. His option is worth $14.5 million and MLB Trade Rumors projects he'd make $14.6 million through arbtitration — both of those figures would be higher than any other player on the Brewers' roster not named Christian Yelich.

Unlike Cincinnati, Milwaukee has become adept at cashing in on their talent rather than clinging to it. Rather than sign key players to costly extensions, fans have seen the Brewers swap Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams, Corbin Burnes, and Willy Adames while they still have some measure of trade value. The same thing is likely to happen to Contreras.

Reds must avoid Brewers' trap — don't trade for William Contreras

But the Reds must avoid this trap. While it would definitely be intriguing to add an All-Star catcher to a lineup that already features Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, Cincinnati would be putting all their eggs in one basket.

Though Conteras' last two seasons have been above-average, neither performance has matched the numbers he put up from 2022-2024. Contreras posted a .283/.363/.472 slash line with a 131 wRC+ during that three-year span, but those numbers have dipped to .265/.348/.408 with a 111 wRC+ the past two years.

If the Reds were to make this deal, not only would it cost them $14.5 million in salary — nearly double what Stephenson made in 2026 — but a trade for Contreras will easily cost the receiving team some highly valuable prospects in return. Throw in the fact that Milwaukee would be flipping Contreras to a division rival, and you can go ahead and assume the cost for Cincinnati to make that move would be even greater.

The Brewers, much like their World Series opponent the Tampa Bay Rays, will quickly gain be branded as one of those opposing organizations you don't trade with. Why? Because you'll always end up with the short-end of the stick.

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