Jake Bauers played a huge role in the Milwaukee Brewers finishing with the best record in baseball and winning the World Series.
He hit the open market, but the Brewers extended him a qualifying offer. Teams still seem to be in the evaluation and discussion stage, but eventually free agents will start flying off the board. Bauers had a great season, but teams will need to determine if it was a fluke or if he has finally found his footing.
The Brewers are clearly okay with him returning on the qualifying offer. Otherwise, they would not have extended it, unless they were certain that he was going to sign elsewhere. According to the president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold, the team is "unclear" on what will happen with Bauers.
"Yeah, still unclear on what that will look like," Arnold said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM on Wednesday. "Jake meant a lot to our team and means a ton to our franchise."
Unlike when the Brewers gave Willy Adames a qualifying offer, they are not sure if Bauers is going to accept a multi-year deal from another team.
Also, unlike Adames, the Brewers may actually be able to afford bringing Bauers back on a multi-year deal, and the advantage they have is they may be able to better evaluate if he can replicate last season's success.
He slashed .266/.389/.484 and hit a team-leading 26 home runs. He also won the National League Championship Series MVP Award.
Although his ability to hit home runs is different from most of the Brewers' lineup, he also excels in areas that the team puts extra emphasis on. He does not chase, and he draws a lot of walks. He can also work long at-bats and use all fields.
There are plenty of teams that could use a first baseman like Bauers, but if he accepts the qualifying offer, the Brewers would gladly welcome him back.