SPORTS LINE
The Brewers.
The Brewers bet big on Cooper Pratt with a $50.75 million deal. The Milwaukee Brewers have done a good job over the years getting long-term contract extensions done with players on the earlier side, and it sounds like they may be on the verge of doing so again.
Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio is the most recent guy to land an early long-term extension with Milwaukee. Chourio landed an eight-year, $82 million deal with two club options for the 2032 and 2033 seasons before even stepping on a big-league field. Milwaukee Brewers shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt agreed to terms on an eight-year, $50.75 million contract, according to multiple reports. Pratt, 21, is regarded as one of the more promising players in a Brewers farm system that ranks among the best in the majors. He was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 62 prospect in all of baseball. He’s not as polished a hitter at this point in his development, though he does have a good eye. Pratt batted .238 with a .343 on-base percentage, eight homers, 62 RBIs, 31 steals, and 67 walks in 120 games with Double-A Biloxi in the pitcher-friendly Southern League last season. With a reported extension coming, that’s a clear sign that the club has faith in the young shortstop as a potential long-term core piece for the organization. Also, with Pratt at Triple-A and reportedly getting an extension, arguably, that’s a sign that if he continues to play well, he’ll likely get a shot at the big-league level at some point in 2026.
Although the Brewers haven’t confirmed the signing, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy was asked Monday what he likes about Pratt after watching the 21-year-old in spring training camp. “What’s not to like?” Murphy said. “Aptitude. He’s a baseball player. He’s a good baseball player. He’s got a ways to go. He’s got to develop. Great human, a worker.” The Brewers selected Pratt in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.
The Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s official: The Milwaukee Bucks are eliminated from the postseason. After being blown out by the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday behind a Stephon Castle triple-double, Milwaukee is now 9.5 games back of the No. 10 seed Charlotte Hornets with nine games remaining in the season. The Bucks are eliminated. While that mathematical elimination didn’t come as much of a surprise, considering the Bucks (29-45) spent weeks well behind teams in the final spots in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament, it still took AJ Green a moment to find the right words to speak about the team’s outcome for the season. In his fourth season with the Bucks, this will be the first time Green misses the playoffs.
This is also the first time the Bucks have missed the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, Antetokounmpo’s third in the NBA. Milwaukee’s missing these playoffs started last playoffs, when Damian Lillard tore his Achilles and was going to miss this season entirely because of it. That led to a desperation move by the Bucks front office, waiving and stretching the more than $112 million remaining on his contract over five years, freeing up the money to sign Myles Turner as a free agent. He did not live up to expectations for the Bucks this season. In recent weeks, Rivers largely deflected when asked about the Bucks falling short of the postseason or the team’s plan moving forward, given its injuries. But after the Bucks were officially eliminated Saturday night, Rivers chose to address the topic directly. “It’s been disappointing, obviously,” Rivers said. “Since I’ve been here, I haven’t had a healthy stretch, and it’s been your key guys. It’s been Giannis. It’s been Dame (Damian Lillard). You hope you can play through that, but we just haven’t had the ability.” In addition to pointing out the team’s injuries, Rivers went on to state he believed the Bucks’ roster didn’t have enough depth and talent heading into the season.
The question now becomes, will Antetokounmpo agree to a max extension with the Bucks this offseason, something he can’t sign until Oct. 1? Let the Antetokounmpo offseason speculation begin.
