The Brewers found a gem in manager Pat Murphy. In his first two seasons as the Brewers’ manager, he’s led the team to 190 regular-season wins, two division titles, and an NLCS appearance. He’s won back-to-back NL Manager of the Year titles. He’s become an amazing manager for the Brewers. However, his future is somewhat murky as he approaches the 2026 season with just one year left on his contract.
Following Craig Counsell’s departure to the Cubs after his contract ran out, the Brewers pivoted to Murphy. He had served as Counsell’s bench coach since 2016 and was the leading candidate for the job. He signed a three-year contract, and at the time it looked like it would happen during a rebuilding period. Instead, Murphy has kept the team going strong despite constant doubt with the Brewers’ roster.
Even with those strong two seasons, Murphy hasn’t received a contract extension. His original three-year contract will run out after 2026. This is concerning, especially following Counsell’s departure. No one expected Counsell to jump to another team during his tenure with the Brewers. However, he shocked everyone when he went to the Cubs and signed a record contract for a manager. Now, Murphy is heading into a similar situation. With his success in his first two seasons, he could have a chance to sign a similar contract.
Right now, Murphy is saying what you would want to hear from a manager of the team. In an article from Jeff Passan of ESPN, Murphy said, “I found a home. If I do it 10 more years, you know, I’d like to do it in Milwaukee.” At the same time, there’s reason to be skeptical. Counsell didn’t say anything negative about the Brewers during his time under contract. For him, it was about setting a higher bar for manager salaries, and the Brewers didn’t offer that. He also left for a team with more financial resources.
Murphy is in a position where he has to weigh his current position with the Brewers against his future. He knows that he doesn’t have many more contracts in his career. Maximizing the value of those will be important. There’s also the desire to win. While the Brewers have shown that they can stay competitive year after year, the resources in Milwaukee are also less than other teams. That also has to factor into any decision. There’s also the possibility of retirement for Murphy. Though he’s expressed his desire to keep managing, retirement can’t be completely ignored.
Having a manager with just one year left on his contract also can affect the free-agent market. Players may be a little more hesitant to sign with a team whose manager could be gone in a year. It also could affect the Brewers’ ability to sign their own players to extensions. Though circumstances change between years, a contract still provides some security that management will stay as is for at least a few more years.
There is still plenty of time for this to change before the season, though. We could hear the news any day that the Brewers have signed Murphy to an extension. If something happens before the season, then this is one less thing to be anxious about in 2026. On the other side, if Murphy enters the season with just this final season remaining, it will be one extra worry on many fans’ minds throughout the season.
Hopefully Murphy will be with the Brewers for several more years. However, after what happened with Counsell, there’s a fear that we could be heading to a similar situation with Murphy.
