Brewers remain undaunted about hopes of contending in the future after getting swept in NLCS

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The resounding nature of Milwaukee’s NL Championship Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers hasn’t shaken the Brewers’ belief that they can compete for World Series berths while playing in the majors’ smallest market.

Milwaukee posted MLB’s best regular-season record at 97-65, setting a franchise record for victories. They beat the Chicago Cubs in the NL Division Series before getting swept by the defending World Series champion Dodgers in the NLCS.

The Dodgers are spending a record $509.5 million in payroll and luxury tax this year. Their projected luxury-tax bill of nearly $168 million exceeded Milwaukee’s entire payroll of $124.8 million.

“It’s not our job to think about what the economics of the sport are,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said Thursday in a news conference wrapping up the season. “That’s above all of us. In our situation, what are we going to do about it? That’s really where I come at it from.

“We’re going to have the resources that we need. We have support from our ownership to put a quality product on the field. There are a lot of small-market teams that can’t say that, and we can. And then there also are a lot of teams that spent a lot of money that didn’t get in. I don’t think it’s just about the money.”

The Brewers announced on Thursday that Arnold had received a promotion that included the title of president of baseball operations. Arnold, who has been overseeing Milwaukee’s baseball operations since October 2022, declined to say whether the promotion included a contract extension.

The Brewers have won three straight NL Central titles since Arnold took over, but the franchise remains in search of its first World Series championship. It made its lone World Series appearance in 1982.

Milwaukee mustered just one run in each of the NLCS’ four games. But the Brewers went 6-0 against the Dodgers in the regular season.

“I felt that we did not put our best foot forward in that series, and I think it would have made some difference, but the Dodgers were on it,” manager Pat Murphy said. “And you know when a team is on it.”

Murphy noted the Brewers were emotionally drained after their five-game series with the rival Cubs. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were in peak form.

“I don’t think the Dodgers are going to play that way every series,” Murphy said. “It isn’t like they’re that dominant every series, as we’ve proved during the season. So I don’t look at it as like, ‘How do we get to that point?’ I don’t think there’s ever been a team at that point, you know what I mean, that could ever aspire to be better than that.”

Murphy cited the dominance of Dodgers starting pitchers Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani. He also pointed out the Brewers didn’t get much rest before the NLCS because their NLDS went the full five games.

“I don’t look at our performance against the Dodgers as, like, that brutal,” Murphy said. “We didn’t put our best foot forward. But there’s all sorts of things to learn from it about how do we get them playing consistent? One is, you don’t play five games in the Division Series, so you have a couple days. So there’s all sorts of things that play into it.”

Milwaukee has some health questions going into the offseason. Third baseman Caleb Durbin will undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery next week but is expected to be ready for spring training. Catcher William Contreras will see a hand specialist for the fractured left middle finger that bothered him for much of the season.

The Brewers also have some roster decisions to make. Two-time All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta has an $8 million club option for 2026 and then could become eligible for free agency.

Milwaukee traded pitchers Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams when they were each one year away from free agency. Would the Brewers do the same with Peralta?

“To be honest, it’s not at the front of my mind,” Arnold said. “Honestly, it’s something where of course you can never shut the door on anything in our situation. Of course we’ve had to make very tough decisions. And I think that’s part of what we have to do, is make tough decisions to help the long-term view of the franchise. But I can tell you that Freddy means more to that clubhouse than most that I’ve ever been around, and he’s a special player on and off the field, and I’m proud to have him as a teammate.”

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