Brewers Sign Mark Canha To Minor League Deal

Outfielder and first baseman Mark Canha has signed with the Brewers on a minor league deal, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal includes an invite to big league Spring Training.

Canha, who celebrated his 36th birthday last week, is vying for a big league job ahead of what would be his 11th MLB season if he makes it onto a roster this year. The veteran was a seventh-round pick by the Marlins all the way back in 2010 but did not make his big league debut until 2015 as a member of the Athletics. Canha spent seven seasons in Oakland and, after struggling early in his career, broke out to become one of the club’s most important players from 2018 to 2021. That four year stretch saw Canha slash a solid .249/.366/.441 (126 wRC+) while splitting time between all three outfield spots.

During that time, Canha walked at an excellent 12.1% clip and struck out only 21.2% of the time. That solid plate discipline made up for Canha’s relatively lackluster power production. The veteran has only ever eclipsed 20 homers in a season once, when he crushed 26 bombs during a 2019 campaign that saw a league-wide power surge. Canha’s solid work with the A’s was enough to earn him a healthy two-year, $26.5MM guarantee from the Mets in free agency prior to the 2022 season. His work in a Mets uniform was mostly solid, and in 2021 his 126 wRC+ was enough to make him a key cog in the 101-win team’s lineup alongside fellow outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte.

He took a step back in his age-35 season last year, however, and hit just .245/.343/.381 with a pedestrian 104 wRC+ in 89 games for the Mets in the first half of the season. Canha wasn’t alone in struggling on that Mets club, and the under-performing team sold aggressively that summer ahead of the trade deadline. Canha was among the players moved, and he found himself traded to Milwaukee on deadline day. The veteran split time between the outfield, first base, and DH for the Brewers down the stretch and enjoyed a resurgence at the plate, hitting .287/.373/.427 with a 120 wRC+ over his final 50 games as he helped lead the club to a division title.

The Brewers held a $11.5MM club option on Canha’s services for the 2024 season, but did not have interest in bringing him back into the fold at that price tag. That didn’t mean Canha was headed back into free agency, however, as Milwaukee instead traded him to Detroit in order to avoid paying the $2MM buyout and acquire minor league reliever Blake Holub. The Tigers then exercised his option and seemed poised to make him a key part of their outfield mix early in the year. Strong performances from players like Wenceel Perez and Parker Meadows largely squeezed Canha out of the outfield, however, and he instead wound up splitting time between the outfield corners, first base, and DH throughout the first half of the season until he was traded to the Giants just before the trade deadline over the summer.

Canha returned to free agency on the heels of a decent campaign where he slashed .242/.344/.346 (102 wRC+) overall. The now-36-year-old offers virtually no power at this point in his career, having slugged just seven homers in 2024, but his plate discipline and on-base ability remain well above average. Canha figures to offer the Brewers a solid depth option in case of injuries throughout the Spring, but it’s difficult to see where he fits on the club as presently constructed. Rhys Hoskins remains entrenched at first base even after a down 2024 season thanks to his $18MM salary, and a combination of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich, and Sal Frelick appear to have the outfield mostly covered. If Canha manages to force his way onto the roster, perhaps he can serve as a right-handed complement for an entirely left-handed Brewers outfield that recently lost switch-hitting center fielder Blake Perkins to the injured list due to a shin fracture while also occasionally spelling Hoskins at first base.