Brewers sign Aaron Ashby to five-year extension, $20.5 million guaranteed

Aaron Ashby is going to be with the Brewers for a while.

In his short time with the Brewers, Aaron Ashby has made an impression on both the Brewers and the fans. Now, he’ll be with the Brewers for several more years. Today, the Brewers announced that Ashby has been signed to a five-year extension.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the details on the contract. Over the five guaranteed years, Ashby will make $20.5 million. That will cover his five years remaining of team control. There are also options included in the contract to cover his first two years of free agency. Between the two options and incentives, Ashby can earn a maximum of $46 million over the course of the contract.

This contract shows how committed the Brewers are to Ashby and his continued development. Though his numbers are not the greatest so far (4.56 ERA and 3.82 FIP over 100 ²⁄₃ major league innings), there’s plenty of reason to believe that he will get better over time. He sports a 10.9 K/9 strikeout rate, and his expected ERA and FIP are 3.44 and 3.29, respectively. He’s had a bit of trouble with walks (3.93 BB/9) and home runs (1.16 HR/9), but if he can get improve those a little, he will be a solid starting pitcher throughout those years.

With Ashby’s contract, here’s how the starting pitchers look going forward:

• Aaron Ashby (Under contract through 2027, options for 2028 & 2029)
• Freddy Peralta (Under contract through 2024, options for 2025 & 2026)
• Brandon Woodruff (Team control through 2024)
• Corbin Burnes (Team control through 2024)
• Eric Lauer (Team control through 2024)
• Adrian Houser (Team control through 2024)

There’s definitely a big concern after the 2024 season with all of those pitchers potentially becoming free agents around the same time, but the Brewers will likely make some moves before then. With a few prospects ready to be promoted in the minors, trading away one or two of those starters is looking like a strong possibility.

Here’s what manager Craig Counsell and David Stearns had to say about the extension.