The Milwaukee Brewers took a major step on Monday towards potentially keeping Jake Bauers as a member of the organization in 2027.

The expectation is that Bauers will be heading to free agency after what was a breakout season for the 31-year-old. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand listed five teams as potential landing spots for Bauers, including the Brewers. On Monday, Milwaukee showed that it clearly has some level of interest in keeping the slugger as it tendered the one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer to him, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"Eight players received the one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer today. The deadline to accept it is Nov. 17," Passan wrote. "Randy Arozarena (Mariners), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Brandon Lowe (Pirates), Trevor Rogers (Orioles), Adrian Morejon (Padres), David Bednar (Yankees), Jake Bauers (Brewers) amd Ryan Jeffers (Twins)."

Breaking Down Jake Bauers' Qualifying Offer

Very, very interesting. So, what does this mean? Let's break it down.

The qualifying offer is a one-year offer that is the average of the league’s 125 highest-paid players. If a player accepts the qualifying offer, then they play out the one-year deal and then cannot be tendered the qualifying offer again. If a team tenders the qualifying offer to a player and that player turns it down and signs elsewhere, the team gets draft compensation in return. Typically, you tend to see a team tender the qualifying offer to a player that is about to go land a multi-year deal in free agency. In that case, the team gets a draft pick.

Occasionally, you will see players pick up the qualifying offer if there are question marks about their stint in free agency. For example, Milwaukee tendered the qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff last year and he accepted it. Bauers made $2.7 million in 2026. His career earnings are just over $9.43 million, per Spotrac. If Bauers were to accept the qualifying offer, that would be more than double his entire career earnings in just one season of work.

Bauers had the best season of his career in 2026. He broke out with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs in 144 games played. Beforehand, he had never hit more than 12 homers or drove in 48 RBIs. He put himself in a position to cash in with a multi-year deal. But the qualifying offer just north of $23 million may be too tempting to turn down.

Right now, Spotrac has its projected market set at just over $57 million over four years. That would be an annual value just north of $14 million per year. Do you cash in right now with a high annual value and bet on yourself to get a multi-year deal next year? Or, do you go for a multi-year deal now with a likely lower annual average? Arguably, it would be a good idea to accept it. At the very least, this shows that Milwaukee is serious about potentially keeping Bauers. Milwaukee will either keep Bauers in town on a one-year deal, or lose him and get a draft pick.