Mark Canha is Back With the Brewers, Offering a Safety Net at Multiple Positions

[Jack Stern]

The Brewers already needed more depth at first base, and an early spring training injury thinned the crop in the outfield. Enter a former trade deadline pickup who adds reliability at both spots.

Image courtesy of © Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

An old friend is joining Brewers camp. Jon Heyman reported Saturday evening that the club agreed to a minor-league deal with Mark Canha that includes an invite to big-league spring training.

Milwaukee first acquired Canha via trade from the New York Mets in 2023, when they needed competent hitters to aid a then-feeble lineup. While the team's shape looks quite different now, he returns with a similar task of supporting the position player core with his unassuming but capable floor as a hitter.

The 36-year-old offers little game power at this stage of his career, hitting just seven home runs last season, but he remains a solid on-base hitter who consistently provides quality plate appearances. For now, he provides insurance in the outfield and at first base.

A fractured shin will sideline Blake Perkins until at least May, pushing Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick into center field more frequently. That left the Brewers needing another corner outfielder. They signed Manuel Margot to a minor-league deal last week, but Canha has a superior offensive track record.

While third base has rightfully received attention as the roster’s weak spot, things are quietly precarious across the diamond. Neither Rhys Hoskins nor Tyler Black are competent defenders at first base, prompting the Brewers to re-up with Jake Bauers on a minor-league pact as a better option in the field. Barring substantial improvement from Black, it seemed the club would run it back with last year’s Hoskins and Bauers tandem, which combined for replacement-level production.

Hoskins is still the primary option at first, and whether the Brewers improve at the position hinges on him bouncing back. Canha could supersede Bauers on the depth chart, though, even if it would give Pat Murphy two right-handed-hitting first basemen. While Bauers and Canha are both patient hitters, they have opposing profiles in many respects. The former boasts impressive raw power that has gone unrealized due to alarming levels of swing-and-miss, while the latter makes softer but far more frequent contact.

Canha won’t wow anyone on either side of the ball, but he’s a safe choice to have available for multiple positions should the Brewers need one. He slashed .242/.344/.346 (102 wRC+) last year, and ZiPS projects him for a nearly identical .243/.345/.355 (103 wRC+) line in 2025. He shouldn’t be a leading choice at any position, but he could crack the Opening Day roster as a plug-and-play veteran who can start a couple of times per week.

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[Brian]

Versatility to cover in a pinch.  The minor league deal will have him available at 4 or 5 different positions.  A competent veteran with a  career .249 avg.  I'm ok with that. 

[Sugarrayray]

Like this choice far more than Margot.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, Sugarrayray said:

Like this choice far more than Margot.

With both Mitchell & Frelick able to play CF, so do I. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Margot hangs around until Perkins returns.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I was going to say Margot has an advantage of being able to play CF, but I'm not sure he should be ever play CF again.  The Brewers have Mitchell and Frelick as well as Chourio.  They have fine depth at CF.