Brewers President Matt Arnold - Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – The Milwaukee Brewers have been busy in recent weeks ensuring their young rising stars are under long-term contracts, and fans are now getting some clarity on when they may see Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara in the Brewers’ uniform.
According to Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold, who sat down for an interview with Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy, spoke about the extensions, saying players currently on the roster shouldn’t feel awkward or pressured about having young players getting big league deals, “No, I don’t think so. I think the Major League team is playing exceptionally well right now; there’s really good chemistry, and we certainly don’t want to disrupt that. These are more long-term visions for the franchise — and for the player. It’s a great opportunity for them to be set up for the rest of their life, be comfortable and just play the game.”
Manager Pat Murphy was asked the same question before Wednesday’s game against the A’s, saying, “Hey, if you don’t want pressure and if you don’t want somebody trying to replace you, pick another profession. Because this is one where you’re going to have pressure and you’re going to have people trying to replace you.”
Arnold also addressed the decision of when to call up Lara and Pratt from AAA due to their solid offensive numbers, saying, “There are so many different ingredients to that. We have a really good thing going here in the big leagues. The team is playing well, and we want to continue to ride that wave. It’s conversations we’re having internally, certainly, but we want to just continue to support this team.”
Luis Lara agreed to a seven-year contract worth up to $79 million and $31 million guaranteed, with incentives and escalators, including three club options from 2033 to 2035 with Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon, while Pratt signed an eight-year, $50.75 million deal with the club in April.
Milwaukee currently has the top-ranked farm system in the majors, led by 19-year-old infielder and top overall prospect Jesus Made, who is expected to receive a similar extension to Pratt and Lara next spring, and fellow 19-year-old infielder Luis Pena, who is currently playing with the Brewers’ High-A affiliate in Appleton and is expected to be called up to AA-Biloxi this summer.
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