Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to pay Brandon Woodruff a $22.025 million salary for the 2026 season, after the fan favorite starter accepted the team's qualifying offer. The contract, which gives Woodruff the highest single-season salary of any pitcher in Brewers history, will unsurprisingly have a big impact on Milwaukee's small-market payroll. Consequently, some expected Woodruff's contract to result in the front office shedding payroll in various ways, with the most publicized method being a trade of Freddy Peralta and his $8 million salary.
There also existed speculation that the players whom the Brewers choose to tender contracts to for the 2026 season would be impacted by Woody accepting the qualifying offer, with the justification being that if Milwaukee's payroll was in a tight spot, they might use the non-tender deadline as a way to save some money.