Ryan Pollak

Great Question! If McGuire were to be added onto the 40 Man Roster, he would have no minor league options left. He would be subject to revocable waivers and designated for assignment should we try to send him down.

Image courtesy of © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The Brewers add a veteran to their catching depth, signing former Blue Jay and Red Sox Reese McGuire to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training and Major League camp, according to Adam McCalvy. This comes after the Brewers have announced 15 non-roster invitees to spring training. Amongst those names are Ramon Rodriguez, Matt Wood, and Darrien Miller, who all play the catcher position. The former 14th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft has had stints with the Blue Jays, White Sox, and Red Sox before signing a minor league deal last season with the Cubs. McGuire played 44 games last season with a .226/.245/.444 line with nine home runs and 24 RBI. Both of which are career highs across his eight seasons in the league. With only 38 men on the 40-man roster, and only two catchers occupying spots, McGuire has the opportunity to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster as the backup for two-time all-star and silver slugger winner, William Contreras. The only person who stands in his way is catcher prospect Jeferson Quero. McGuire has played more of a platoon role with his previous teams, with the likes of Carson Kelly last season, Connor Wong, and even former Brewers catcher Danny Jansen. He has more success against a right-handed pitcher, so he would likely be used in those situations. He would provide a solid competition for Quero, who has had a history of injuries that have stunted his growth to the major league roster and has even been removed from MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects. If McGuire earns a spot, they can still option Quero back down to Nashville. While it may use his third minor league option, Quero does qualify for a fourth option should they go with McGuire. View full article

I love all of this. Yes, Ortiz has been a lot better since June. That is very factual. He's hitting a .277 in the last 30 games. But I'd still like another option in the dugout other than Monasterio and Seigler. If it's a better bat than Ortiz, then make Ortiz the platoon bat. Just any way to improve the team.

Image courtesy of © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images We’ve already tried to sit in the GM seat for the Milwaukee Brewers during the offseason. But what would we do if we sat in the GM seat as the trade deadline creeps closer and closer? There are many areas in which the Brewers could use improvement. Where Caleb Durbin has been a nice addition to the hot corner both offensively and defensively, Joey Ortiz has been struggling at the plate. Rhys Hoskins is likely on the injured list until mid-August, and Sal Frelick has landed on the injured list with his grade one hamstring injury. What type of wheeling and dealing could we see from the Brewers? Let me give it a shot as the GM. Trade #1: Brewers Acquire UTIL Willi Castro from the Twins Where every team seems to be looking for a rental third baseman, the same cannot be said for the shortstop position. Enter Willi Castro from the Twins, who is more of a utility player. Throughout the season, Castro has played both the outfield and the infield except for first base. I must give credit to fellow writer Harold Hutchinson, who put the idea out there that Castro could be the right piece to pick up at the deadline. So, I gave him a look and now agree with this idea. With a .254/.342/.423 line along with 10 home runs and 27 RBI, Castro seems like the perfect answer for any spot on the field. Not only that, but he also has a .304 batting average and a .908 OPS with runners in scoring position. He might not be a power bat, but he at least provides another reliable bat in the lineup that will get on base. As for his defense, his -6 outs above average (OAA) might be a little concerning. But keep in mind, most of his fielding this year has been in the outfield. Plus, he had a combined 4 OAA in the infield last season and was a finalist for the American League Gold Glove for a utility player. Castro, who is on an expiring contract and entering free agency, won’t break the bank on any of the Brewers' top prospects. Perhaps one of Jadher Areinamo, Juan Baez, or Freddy Zamora could be enough to add him to the roster. In this hypothetical move, the Brewers would likely option down Anthony Seigler and DFA Oliver Dunn. Trade #2: Brewers Acquire RHP Kevin Ginkel from the D-Backs Every year, even though they don’t need it, the Brewers add a pitcher or two to their already elite bullpen. Even crazier, these pitchers are players that nobody expects to be traded. An example of this is Nick Mears' last season. The Diamondbacks have a lot of different names they could potentially trade. This includes Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, and Eugenio Suarez, who are sure to receive a ton of offers. The Brewers could get outbid for these big names, but I doubt there is much of a market for relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel. Ginkel has been utilized as a late-inning bullpen arm that can hold the lead for the closer to finish the job. He wasn’t exactly the set-up man, but he was mainly used in the seventh inning. He probably won’t be a closer any time soon, but he is an effective arm down the stretch. At a glance, his 7.66 ERA with a 1.66 WHIP is scary and not worth trading for. But after his last eight outings, he has allowed only two run across 7 2/3 innings, including six strikeouts and a couple of saves. He only has club control through the 2026 season. It would be a nice addition to a bullpen that has been worked in the first half of the season. Perhaps the Brewers can trade a controllable pitcher on the 40-man roster like Elvis Peguero, along with a pitching prospect like KC Hunt (Brewers #25 Prospect according to MLB Pipeline). Trade #3 Brewers Acquire 1B Nathaniel Lowe from the Nationals With Hoskins hurt and now Jake Bauers landing on the injured list with no timetable to return, the Brewers should probably add a power left-handed bat to their lineup. The Brewers have the pieces to add a big bat at the deadline. However, I also see them getting outbid by more desperate teams. Let’s take a slightly cheaper option, such as Nathaniel Lowe. Hoping to compete in the NL East, the Nationals traded for Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers. It’s panning out as they hope, as they are currently in dead last in their division. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the slugging first baseman. His .224 batting average and .681 OPS are the worst he's had in a season for his career. However, with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs, he’s on pace to hit career bests in those categories. If you aren't sold on that, how about his .308 batting average with RISP? Lowe would be a nice platoon with Andrew Vaughn for the rest of the season and even in 2026. Lowe has one more year of club control. He is owed $10.3 million for the 2025 season, but the Brewers will pay only a fraction of that. amount If the Brewers think he’s too expensive for next year, they can flip them for a prospect or two during the offseason. Think of Mark Canha when he was traded to the Tigers in the 2023-24 offseason. What happens to Hoskins or Bauers when they get healthy all depends on the Vaughn/Lowe platoon. Best case, Hoskins gets activated in September and Bowers gets DFA. Worst case, Hoskins gets activated, Vaughn gets optioned to Triple A, and Bauers stays on the team. Lowe shouldn’t cost much to acquire. However, because trades are unpredictable, I believe it could cost as much as Tyler Black to acquire him. Perhaps Black could get more playing time in the big leagues with the Nationals. Then again, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Brewers trade a prospect outside the top 30 for Lowe. What would you like to see the Brewers do at the deadline? Do you agree with any of the trades in this story? Should the Brewers make any trades at this year’s trade deadline? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of © Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Brewers have quite the set of arms for the rotation heading into the 2025 All-Star break. But with other areas on the field looking to need some sort of upgrade in the last half of the season, do the Brewers consider trading away any of their starting pitching? The Brewers already parted ways with right-hander Aaron Civale, trading him to the White Sox. However, with Jacob Misiorowski thriving since his MLB debut and Brandon Woodruff having triumphantly returned to the mound, it’s still looking like quite the logjam. All-Star Freddy Peralta, Jose Quintana, and Quinn Priester round out the rotation. Not only that, but Nestor Cortes is expected to return shortly after the break, and Robert Gasser will be ready to chip in some innings down the stretch. Last year’s breakout pitcher Tobias Myers and promising rookies Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson are all sitting in Triple-A Nashville, waiting for their number to be called to return to the big leagues. With all these extra arms, should the Brewers consider including one of them in a trade? Here are some reasons why they will consider trading a starting pitcher—and a few reasons why they shouldn’t. As in the past, we will treat this like a point-counterpoint. Trade Them: We Need to Upgrade the Infield Losing Willy Adames in free agency meant the Brewers needed to find their new shortstop for the 2025 season and beyond. Instead of signing a replacement infielder in free agency like Ha-Seong Kim, Yoán Moncada, or Amed Rosario, the Brewers opted to go with in-house options, moving Joey Ortiz to short and keeping the likes of Vinny Capra and Andruw Monasterio as options at third base. They did get Caleb Durbin in the Devin Williams trade, but at the time, he had yet to make his MLB debut. Thus far, they haven’t made up for their losses. Capra has a .074 batting average on the season and couldn't even stick on the White Sox roster. Monasterio has taken more of a high-energy bench role. Durbin has done well at third base both defensively and offensively, hitting a sturdy .261/.348/.363 across 72 games. However, Ortiz has taken a step back, hovering around the dreaded Mendoza Line. Granted, Ortiz had an incredible month of June, but has only had three hits in 22 plate appearances thus far this month and was benched at the start of this week for taking a poor approach at the plate. First baseman Rhys Hoskins sustained a thumb injury that will probably keep him out of action until mid-August. Unless they look to add any first basemen at the deadline, the Brewers will have to rely on the likes of Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn to fill the void in the lineup. There are, then, multiple possible places where the team could use an offensive boost. When it comes to shortstops, the options on the trade market are bare. The most likely to be on the move is Isiah Kiner-Falefa of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he probably won’t cost one of the pitchers on the roster. Maikel García is an appealing target who would definitely command some young pitching in a package, but he's less likely to be dealt. First base has a better market. The biggest name that will likely be on the move is All-Star Ryan O’Hearn. Josh Naylor has also become a hot name, as the Diamondbackis have sputtered. While there isn’t much noise, Nathaniel Lowe can also be a name to watch out for amid the Nationals' likely makeover. The third base market, however, is going to be the position to look out for. We have already heard potential trade rumors about power-hitting third basemen such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon, Nolan Arenado and even Alex Bregman. There is already a ton of interest from teams like the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees—not to mention the Brewers' chief rivals, the division-leading Cubs. If the Brewers want to outbid these other teams, then perhaps they need to throw in one of the young pitchers who are major league-ready, to entice the selling club. Keep Them: The Kids Are Alright One of the better ways for players to get through their slumps is to take days off and play through them. Why would you replace the young gun in the lineup with a veteran rental? Last year, Jackson Chourio wasn’t performing well in the first two months of the season. Rather than sending him down to the minor leagues and replacing him, the Brewers continued to play it out with him and let him figure it out. Not only did he figure it out, but he became a Rookie of the Year candidate. This year, Durbin also rose to the occasion after having quite the slump. At one point, he was hitting .169/.265/.236 in the middle of May. The Crew's patience with him has paid off wonderfully. Getting a rental piece for the infield is fine, but you don’t have to sell out to get a veteran. As mentioned earlier, the Brewers may not have to give up a pitcher to get their upgrade. Buying a low-risk, high-reward player at the deadline might give just enough time for Ortiz to figure out his swing decisions, and for other young infielders to get big-league experience. Along with Kiner-Falefa, Moncada, Luis Urías, and Ramon Urías could be great depth for a team that may need it. It’s not a huge acquisition, but it could be enough to leapfrog the Cubs and win the division. As for first base, the Vaughn/Bauers platoon doesn’t have to be amazing for the team to do well. Hoskins is only gone for a month and will return by the final month of the season. Besides, Vaughn himself is a trade acquisition already made, and he's hitting .429 with a 1.4 Win Probability Added in his first handful of games with the Brewers. This is his trial run for next season, assuming Hoskins won’t be back for 2026. The Brewers are fine and don’t need to sell even depth pieces for two-month rentals. The kids are alright, ready to develop, and want to play now. Trade Them: The Young Guns Are Waiting Some of the young starters stashed in Nashville need chances to pitch in the big leagues. While it makes sense Patrick was sent down, Myers was just named International League Pitcher of the Week. Henderson had a 1.71 ERA as part of the Brewers rotation, and was still sent down. He’s not really struggling, either, as he has a 3.01 ERA in 68 2/3 innings in Triple A. Neither is Carlos Rodriguez, who has a 2.64 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP in Nashville. What exactly are they waiting for? An opening. An opportunity to perform in MLB and compete for a ring with a big-league team. They have proven, time and time again, that they are major league-ready. So how can they get that chance? There are two ways: trade a veteran, or trade one of those youngsters. The Brewers have already traded Civale to the White Sox, giving him a chance to start in the major leagues while giving Misiorowski his chance to shine for the Brewers. A similar deal might be required with either Cortes or Quintana, to keep space open for Priester and/or Patrick down the stretch. Keep Them: They Can Wait Until Next Season The performance of the arms in Triple A has been nothing but sensational. It can get very frustrating that they aren’t utilizing their talents and “wasting away” in the minors. This is especially true when all four of the guys performing well in Nashville are on the 40-man roster and have pitched at some point for Milwaukee this year. However, they will have plenty of opportunities to thrive in the 2026 season. I know it’s hard not to be a major part of a playoff team’s success, but the players blocking Patrick, Henderson and Myers are aging veterans who might not be with the team next season. Of the starting pitchers that are on the roster, Quintana, Cortes, and very likely Woodruff are going to be free agents after this season. This will open opportunities for not only the boys in Triple A, but those like DL Hall and Aaron Ashby who can get another chance in the starting rotation come 2026. This young wave of pitching will have four, five, and maybe six years of club control that will keep the team competitive for years to come. How the Sounds and Shuckers will look after those promotions will be determined. Otherwise, they can add arms to the farm system through the draft. There are other ways to improve the team at the trade deadline. The Brewers have a deep farm system and could part ways with other prospects in hopes of succeeding both now and in this franchise’s future. Trade Them: Veteran Contracts Are Expiring Sure, the guys in the minors can wait a year, but what about the veteran arms? Sure, they give a team veteran leadership that can help groom the younger players for their careers. Ultimately, though, they're on the way out the door. Why not extract some value from them via trade? Unlike Adames, keeping these veteran arms and letting them walk next year isn’t going to give them a draft pick. The only one who can be offered a qualifying offer is Cortes, and he hasn’t been healthy enough to earn a contract worth more than $20 million. Isn’t this what small-market teams do: sell expensive contracts for something that’ll help their future? No one in the group will net them a huge haul, but they can shift resources to optimize their future. Keep Them: They Are in the Playoff Hunt Trading during contracts is always enticing for a small-market team. However, you can throw that out the window when they are in a playoff push. The Brewers currently hold the second Wild Card spot and are only one game behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Their starting pitchers have a 3.39 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. As of now, the worst starting pitcher on the team is technically Cortes (9.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP), and that’s because he's only had two starts. Even if the Brewers sell off those aging veterans, they are only going to get lottery-ticket prospects or fungible depth pieces. It's probably not worth even risking another 2022 situation, when a trade that sent a good player away from a contending team seemed to ripple negatively through the clubhouse. Trading a fan favorite like Hader in 2022 confused the team, and the fan base turned on the front office. It pretty much set the tone for the rest of the season. Trading someone like Peralta (one of the few in this discussion who would bring back a major return) is a non-starter, for this and other reasons. That doesn’t mean the Brewers aren’t going to trade Peralta next year. But with an $8 million club option, that is a bargain price compared to anything else in free agency. Conclusion: The Brewers don’t need to trade any of their starting pitchers to improve their batting order. However, they might have to use them in a trade package if they want a big bat. We'll see how willing they are to take some of the risks involved in compromising depth in one area to improve it in another. Will the Brewers trade one of their starting pitchers? What do you think the Brewers could get in return? What player would you like to see get traded to the Brewers? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images After being moved to the bullpen upon Jacob Misiorowski’s call up to the big leagues, Aaron Civale has requested a trade, according to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. When the team was in dire need of starters (thanks to injuries) last summer, Civale joined the Brewers in early July via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, in exchange for minor leaguer Gregory Barrios. In 14 starts with the 2024 Brewers, he recorded a 3.53 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with 65 strikeouts and 25 walks. As the Brewers’ nominal third starter when camp opened, Civale hoped to continue his success in his contract year. However, he had an early exit on his first start due to a left hamstring strain. He was placed on the 15-day injured list and didn’t return until late May. Since his return, Civale has allowed seven runs in 19 innings, across four starts (3.32 ERA). Along the way, the March free-agent signing of Jose Quintana and the April trade that brought in Quinn Priester crowded Civale into the back end of the rotation. Although the veteran hasn’t struggled in his starting role, the Brewers decided to call up their best pitching prospect in Misiorowski. With Freddy Peralta, Quintana, Chad Patrick, and the duo of Priester and DL Hall all showing similar kinds of success, Civale seemed like the odd man out. While Misiorowski is expected to make his debut Thursday night, Civale is going to be in the bullpen for the time being. Whether this can result in Civale taking over after Misiorowski's outing tonight will remain a mystery. Civale has yet to make a relief appearance in his career—that is, in the regular season. He did come in in relief in last year’s Wild Card matchup against the Mets, in Game 3. According to Civale’s agent, Jack Toffey, Civale wants to continue his career as a starter. But the Brewers already have a huge surplus in starting arms for the rotation, limiting his options. Hence the request to explore his chances elsewhere. Aside from the names listed above, Brandon Woodruff and Nestor Cortes are expected to make their return to the roster at some point this season. Not only that, the Brewers have pitchers in the minor leagues who are more than ready to make starts for the big-league club. Among those are rookie Logan Henderson, who has a 1.71 ERA after winning three of his four big-league starts; and Tobias Myers, who was one of the best starters in the rotation last season. As stated earlier, Civale is in his contract year and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He is owed about $5 million for the balance of this season and turns 30 on Thursday. Presumably, the Brewers will try to honor his request, since they have more than enough depth, but they now lack leverage in any discussion and are unlikely to get much for him. What do you think of Civale’s tenure as a Brewer? What type of return do you think the Brewers can get for Civale? What other pitchers can be on the trade block this deadline? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Ten games in, the Brewers' young second baseman is raking. What kind of changes has he made to improve his swing? Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Brewers are off to a 5-5 start this season. That sounds tame, but it’s fair to say it has been a rollercoaster already, thanks to injuries, shutouts, and being on the wrong side of blowouts. Despite all this, there has been one batter who has been constantly producing: Brice Turang. Where we have seen .500 baseball from the Crew in the first three series of the season, Turang has gotten a hit in every single game. In 43 plate appearances, Turang is hitting .325/.349/.500, with two home runs and six RBIs. Sure, it’s a small sample, but it’s an interesting uptick in numbers from his .254 batting average from last season. Turang is entering his third season in the league, and as he has gotten more experience in the bigs, he’s shown slight improvements in his swings and approach. Firstly, he's setting up differently in the batter's box: deeper (relative to home plate), farther off the inside edge, and more open, ready to attack the ball and extend his arms more at contact. Bat speed has been an issue since his rookie season. A lack of swing speed doesn’t bode well for hitters who are trying to get ahead of a mid-90s fastball—not because they can't catch up to that heat itself, but because the slower one's swing, the more one has to time to the fastball and start early, compromising the ability to adjust to other offerings. The bat speed is up significantly this spring, and Turang has used that to his advantage, catching the ball deeper but still making solid contact. Still, this is far from merely a bat-speed thing. He's still below-average in that regard. The stance adjustments have also made Turang a little more versatile in terms of where he directs his hard contact. In 2024, he was driving the ball almost solely toward the right side of the field. So far this year, he's been hitting it up the middle. These aren’t just bloopers and lucky hits, either. Turang has been pounding the ball at an average 94 MPH exit velocity. In comparison, he only averaged 87 MPH last year, and the big-league average sits at around 88 MPH. So, what exactly has changed about Turang and his swing? Moving back in the batter’s box doesn’t exactly change bat speed, and it shouldn’t change exit velocity either. Is he doing anything different at the plate? In 2024, he was patient at the plate striking out at a 17% rate. He wasn’t walking much, but he wasn’t striking out as much either. His whiff rate was well below average (13.8%), and he laid off the ball down below the zone. He was successful with pitches in the top of the zone, and would swing at those regularly. In 2025, he's taking a new tack. Turang has been swinging a lot more, making contact with pitches on the inside part of the plate. He has been swinging and missing a lot more often, especially on the low outside part of the plate. Again, this is only based off the first 10 games of a 162-game season. so expect some stats to regress. So far, though, it looks like he's going after pitches he believes he can blast—not just swinging faster and trading some contact for that bat speed, but attacking when he sees something he can put the barrel on. 2024: 2025: These are all small changes that have helped Turang to start the 2025 season. However, he swore repeatedly during spring training that he wasn't doing anything differently, so much of this could be mental. It might be as much about comfort as about conscious approach or mechanical work. Turang is in his third season with the parent club. He's now seen a thing or two, he’s gaining muscle, and he’s entering his prime years as a baseball player. At 25 years old, believe it or not, he is the longest-tenured Brewers infielder and he still has four more seasons of club control. It’s crazy to think that I was calling him potential trade bait entering the 2024 season—someone who might be on the bubble of making the roster. Now, he looks like the player the Brewers were hoping to see back in 2018 when they drafted him with the 21st overall selection. If he can keep up with this newfound confidence and his improved approach at the plate, then we might just see a dynamic middle infield for years to come. View full article

With Blake Perkins out until mid-May, a spot has opened up on the Opening Day roster. Should the Brewers consider a fifth outfielder for the sake of depth? Image courtesy of Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports Entering Spring Training, the Brewers had five strong contenders for the three outfielders position leading us to one question: Who is going to be the fourth outfielder? In what seemed like a competition between Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins, it was settled before games really got going as the latter injured his shin, keeping him out until mid-May. Now the question becomes: Is four outfielders going to be enough? Do the Brewers need to have a fifth outfielder entering the season while they wait on Perkins to get healthy? Christian Yelich could be a regular DH while Jackson Chourio, Mitchell, and Sal Frelick round out the three positions in the outfield. Then every once in a while, Yelich can play an outfield position (he's likely limited to the corners at this point) while the others have breaks or platoon with each other. If they do opt to keep another outfielder on the Opening Day roster, which option currently in camp is best? Manuel Margot Before the Brewers announced Perkins' injury, Todd Rosiak noted Manuel Margot was in the Brewers clubhouse and eventually signed a minor league contract with the club. Margot is coming off a down year with the Twins with a .238/.289/.337 line in 343 plate appearances. His career norms suggest he will at least have better success against left-handed pitching; a .269 batting average and a .713 OPS against southpaws last season confirms he has that potential. As a right-handed bat, Margot would be a great platoon with projected center fielder Mitchell or even Frelick, who hasn’t found as much success against the lefties thus far. In order for Margot to make the Opening Day roster, the Brewers will have to remove someone from the 40-man roster, whether it be by DFA or adding a player to the 60-Day Injured List. Depending on how well Margot does for the Brewers, the club could DFA him upon Perkins' return or attempt to trade him for another asset with minor league options remaining. Brewer Hicklen and Isaac Collins Both Hicklen and Collins had similar paths to the big leagues. Hicklen was signed to a minor league contract back in November 2023. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster, but he battled his way through Nashville to finally get selected to the 40-man roster in July. Hicklen didn’t get called up until September, but hitting 21 home runs with the Sounds seemed too good to pass up. Unfortunately, he has yet to get his first hit in MLB. He’s only had nine career plate appearances, so his potential still vastly outweighs what we know about him from that small sample. As for Collins, he was claimed off waivers back in December 2022 and has tried to fight his way to the major league roster since. Sure enough by September last year, he too got the call. When called up, Collins was batting .273 in Nashville with 14 home runs and 76 RBI. He did get a single on his first career at-bat, but he hasn’t gotten one since. Both these bats could be a nice temporary replacement for Perkins. They both have minor league options left and are ready for major league pitching. The only real difference is Collins can also play the infield if the Brewers need it (not that they do, but having the flexibility is nice). So it’s a three man race for a fifth outfield spot, right? Well, not exactly, as a fourth option has emerged in recent weeks, and this one is quite a familiar face to Brewers fans. Mark Canha Just a few days after the Perkins injury, the Brewers signed first baseman and outfielder Mark Canha to a minor league contract. Whereas fans initially thought this would be another temporary solution in the outfield, skipper Pat Murphy seems to have other plans. Canha was originally acquired by the Brewers at the 2023 trade deadline in a deal with the Mets. During his tenure, he hit five home runs and 33 RBI with a .287 batting average and an .800 OPS. At the time, he was utilized as a corner outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter. To give the team more payroll flexibility, the Brewers traded Canha to the Tigers. His numbers slipped a little in Detroit, but they picked back up when he joined the Giants later in the season. With Canha becoming an option at DH, this could allow (force?) Yelich to play more in the field, allowing the outfielders to rotate in and out as needed, avoiding potential fatigue and burnout. This can also provide a bigger competition at third base as Tyler Black might have to find more playing time at other positions. With Murphy speaking highly of this new signing, he is a strong candidate to be on the Opening Day roster. Like Margot’s situation, adding Canha would mean a player will have to be removed from the 40-man roster. So, what’s the solution here? Do the Brewers add a fifth outfielder? Is Canha being relegated to first base and DH better than another outfielder? Is there a scenario where Canha and another outfielder make the Opening Day roster? There are only 13 position player spots up for grabs, so whatever decision the front office makes will be a tough one. Prediction: Mark Canha and Isaac Collins make the Opening Day roster; Blake Perkins added to 60-day IL. Follow Ryan Pollak on X: @Ryeandfish View full article