4 budget free agent targets for the Brewers that would help them contend in 2025

Mark Canha - 1B/OF

How about an old friend as well?

As of right now, the Brewers have exactly one player fully guaranteed to be in their 2025 Opening Day outfield: Jackson Chourio. Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich will earn spots if they can make it through spring training unscathed, Sal Frelick is going to have a fluid role and Blake Perkins is likely going to be on hand as a true backup outfielder.

With the fair amount of uncertainty in mind, the Brewers should consider bringing Canha back into the fold. He was a Brewer for the second half of last year after coming over as a trade deadlne acquisition. In 50 games, he hit five home runs with 33 RBI, posting a respectable .287 average, .800 OPS and 119 OPS+ along the way.

Canha was under contract for this year as well, but the Crew flipped him to Detroit early in this past offseason and he eventually made his way to the Giants at the 2024 deadline.

Canha is another veteran player who offers a skillset the Brewers should be interested in. He has versatility, being able to line up at first base and all around the outfield, and he's always been rock-solid against left-handed pitching. He could be a cheap lefty-masher who will surely be an under-the-radar free agent once the offseason officially begins.

The odds of Canha landing another deal like the three-year, $36M one he's about to have expire are very, very low. He's 35-years old and not a superstar, so don't expect him to command that kind of money. He should be a low-cost but valuable addition to the Brewers and you won't need to look any further than the second half of last year to see how that'd work out.