Contreras is Milwaukee’s first Silver Slugger since Christian Yelich won in 2019
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras was named the Silver Slugger Award winner at his position for the first time in his career, beating out Sean Murphy (Atlanta), J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia), and Will Smith (Los Angeles).
Contreras, who came over from Atlanta in a three-team deal that saw Murphy go from Oakland to Atlanta back in December, had a breakout campaign on both sides of the ball in his first season with the Brewers.
Across a career-high 141 games, Contreras hit .289/.367/.457 with 17 homers, 78 RBIs, and six stolen bases, leading among Milwaukee’s regulars with a 125 OPS+. He was especially impressive after the All-Star break, hitting .318/.391/.489 with eight homers and 46 RBIs across 70 games.
He also led all qualified catchers with 38 doubles and 56 extra-base hits.
Contreras, who is still pre-arbitration eligible in 2024, will not be a free agent until his age 30 season in 2028, so he figures to be a center piece for the Brewers even if they decide to rebuild in the post-Craig Counsell era.