William Contreras

Contreras will receive $15.5 million, which is exactly what he made the last two years combined ($6.1 million and $9.4 million). He’ll be eligible for free agency for the first time next winter. That’s led to some speculation that the Brewers could trade him. Most, though, would probably prefer that they try to run it back.

Aaron Ashby, who also had a great case for NLCS MVP honors, again gets snubbed here. Cooper Pratt and Jackson Chourio both had better offensive series than Contreras, but the catcher does deserve credit for his four caught stealings and his great success challenging pitches. He was also the Brewers’ best hitter overall this postseason, finishing with a 1.036 OPS, three homers and nine RBI in 12 games.

Contreras delivered an RBI single in the opening frame before connecting on a center-cut fastball from Dodgers lefty reliever Kris Bubic, sending a majestic 436-foot blast to left-center field to tie the ballgame in the fifth inning. It was his third round-tripper of the playoffs and fifth career postseason homer, which ties him with teammate Jackson Chourio for Milwaukee’s franchise record. He put the Brewers ahead with a sixth-inning single to left field off hard-throwing righty Brock Stewart before being walked on four pitches his next time up. The power-hitting 28-year-old backstop reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help give Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NLCS. The series heads to Los Angeles with Game 3 on Wednesday evening.

Contreras got the Brewers on the board with a shot off Nick Pivetta in the fourth inning. The 28-year-old also drew a walk in the ninth inning, but the Brew Crew were unable to score and picked up their first postseason loss. Contreras has homered twice in this series with a slash of .364/.462/.909 over the first three games.

The Brewers were tied for 28th place in the majors in homers this year, but they got two to account for their runs tonight, with Jackson Chourio hitting a two-run homer off Robbie Ray in the third and William Contreras breaking the tie off Adrian Morejon in the seventh. Contreras’s homer was his third in 19 career postseason games. The two teams will play again Sunday, with Michael King and Logan Henderson expected to start.

Contreras’s home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a three-run home run off Brady Singer in the fourth inning. Contreras has hit a home run in three consecutive games and four of his last six games. He’s hitting .273 with a .763 OPS and 86 RBI.

Contreras’s two-run homer off Kevin Gausman was the 100th of his career. He’s hit .326 with three homers and 11 RBI in his last 11 games.

The Brewers have been using Sunday afternoon games to get Contreras a breather recently and that trend will continue here. Bo Naylor will do the catching for the Brewers and will bat eighth against Reds’ right-hander Brady Singer.

Contreras put the Brewers on the board early, taking Andrew Abbott deep for a solo homer in the first inning. The 28-year-old backstop is hitting .271/.340/.407 with 14 homers, 73 runs scored, and 74 RBI across 573 plate appearances.

Contreras has shouldered a heavy load behind the dish for the Brewers this season, so they’ll get him off of his feet for a day on Sunday. Gary Sanchez will do the catching for the Brewers and will bat sixth against Rangers’ righty Kumar Rocker.

Contreras’ home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Cal Quantrill in the first inning. Contreras has three home runs and 13 RBI in his last 21 games. He’s hitting .271 with a .740 OPS and 70 RBI.

He hit the ball hard every time up today, with his singles ranging from 97 mph to 108 mph off the bat. Contreras has followed up a string of six straight hitless contests by going 9-for-20 with a homer and a 2/3 K/BB in his last five games.

It appears to just be a routine day-game-after-a-night-game rest. Gary Sánchez is batting cleanup against RHP George Kirby.

Contreras hit the ball in excess of 100 mph all four times up tonight, which is the kind of performance that suggests his slump really is over. Not only was he 0-for-20 in his last six games, but he was hitting just .146 with two RBI in his last 22 contests.

Austin Hays took a ridiculously wild swing against an eephus pitch from Gary Sánchez and drilled Contreras pretty good. Contreras was able to continue after a visit from the trainer, perhaps in part because his backup was doing the pitching at the time. If he doesn’t play Wednesday, this will probably be the reason.

With the Brew Crew trailing 1-0, Contreras changed that in a hurry with a three-run homer off Pete Fairbanks to give Milwaukee the victory in the series finale. It’s just the 10th homer of the season for the 28-year-old — who otherwise has put together a solid season — and he’s now driven in 57 runs in 98 games. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Contreras starts seeing more balls going over the fence over the summer months, but in the meantime, at least he contributes in the average category as seen in his .280 mark.

It’s the third straight week that Contreras has gotten a breather on a Sunday. If you’re going to get a day off though, doing so against Paul Skenes isn’t the worst idea in the world. Gary Sanchez will start in his place behind the dish and bat fifth for the Brewers on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Since he shoulders a very heavy workload for a catcher, the Brewers are careful to mix in off days for Contreras to get him off of his feet once in a while, with Sunday afternoon games being the most common. Gary Sanchez will start in his place behind the dish and bat seventh against Diamondbacks’ southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez.

Contreras sees as much time behind the dish as anyone in the league these days, so giving him a break on occasion to keep him fresh is always a good idea. Gary Sanchez will do the catching for the Brewers on Sunday and will bat sixth against a host of Cubs’ relievers.

Contreras blasted his ninth homer of the season in the seventh inning off Cubs reliever Jayden Murray to put the Brewers up 5-1. Contreras has now homered in back-to-back games and in three of his last five. The veteran catcher is slashing a blistering .333/.392/.536 on the month and has displayed a good bit of power with five dingers.