The Milwaukee Brewers enter the 2025 MLB season with the same blueprint at first base they had last year. Rhys Hoskins exercised his $18 million player option in a move Milwaukee may not have expected from him since they included the option in his contract when they signed him as a free agent. In his first season with the Brewers, he hit .214/.303/.419 with 26 home runs and 82 RBI.
Milwaukee recently re-signed Jake Bauers after non-tendering him earlier in the offseason. A left-handed hitter, he played first base, right field and left field for the Brewers last year, hitting .199/.301/.361 with 12 home runs, 43 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Bauers’ contract is a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He is currently listed as the team’s second first baseman depth chart.
Milwaukee also has Tyler Black, who made his Major League debut last season, ready to compete for a spot in the Opening Day lineup. He hit just .204/.316/.245 in 18 Big League games last year, but in Triple-A Nashville he hit .254/.375/.429 with 14 home runs and 67 RBIs.
The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t had a long-term first baseman since Prince Fielder
From 2006 to 2011, first base was owned by Prince Fielder in Milwaukee. Fielder, a franchise legend, spent seven of his 12 Major League seasons with the Brewers, hitting .282/.390/.540 with 230 home runs and 656 RBI. In 2007, he became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs in a season, which is also Milwaukee’s single-season record.
After he left for Detroit Tigers However, after the 2011 season, the Brewers had a revolving door at first base and were unable to find anyone to fill the position for more than one or two years.
From 2012 to 2022, Milwaukee had 11 different starts as the opening day first baseman. It wasn’t until Rowdy Tellez started playing in 2022 and 2023 that the same player would start at that position for consecutive years with the Brewers. Hoskins appears likely to start there again in 2025 after doing so in 2024, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be Milwaukee’s long-term answer at first base.
Former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Garrett Cooper has signed with the Atlanta Braves
One of the players the Brewers once drafted, Garrett Cooper, looked like he had the potential to eventually become the team’s long-term answer at first base. In 2015, while playing in Milwaukee’s minor league system, he hit .310/.376/.452 with eight home runs and 59 RBI. The following year he hit .292/.344/.423 with nine home runs and 69 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A.
In 2017, in 75 games played at Triple-A, Cooper hit .366/.428/.652 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI.
And then Milwaukee traded him to the New York Yankees for Tyler Webb.
Since being traded, Cooper has played in the Majors for the Yankees, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He has career averages of .265/.333/.427 with 57 career home runs and 233 RBI.
This morning it was reported that he has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves:
Sources say free agent first baseman Garrett Cooper is working with the Atlanta Braves on a minor league contract. The deal includes an invitation to spring training.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 12, 2025
Cooper hit just .206/.267/.299 with a home run and 11 RBI in 116 games for the Cubs and Red Sox last season.
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