3 contenders in need of a catcher who the Brewers could trade with at the deadline

With two days left before the MLB trade deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers are all but certain to still make a trade or two. And when they do so, they'll likely deal from one of their positions of depth, as they usually do.

One of those positions for the Brewers is at catcher. Behind All-Star starter William Contreras, the Crew currently have both Eric Haase, a spring standout who is finally back with the team and slugging once again, and Gary Sanchez, an offensive-minded catcher who was just reinstated from the IL.

The Brewers don't carry three catchers often, but with Christian Yelich going to the IL himself, manager Pat Murphy was able to make the roster math work for now. However, this also presents a perfect opportunity to flip one for someone who could help Milwaukee secure a playoff spot, either now or in the future. It just so happens, these three contenders who could use a new backstop.

1. San Diego Padres

As we mentioned a couple days ago, the Padres would be one team that could definitely use a catcher. Of the 12 teams currently in playoff position, San Diego has the second lowest combined fWAR (1.4) from their catchers on the season, behind only the Phillies who just got JT Realmuto back from injury.

Luis Campusano has been the Padres' primary backstop and is batting just .237 with a .655 OPS. Backup Kyle Higashioka has been better on the season (.268, .800) but has only played in 47 games. And though Haase would be a good fit for them, they could go after Sanchez as well, who had a .792 OPS with 19 homers and 46 RBIs in 72 games for them just last season.

2. Minnesota Twins

If the Padres don't bite, perhaps the Brewers could make a trade with their friends from across the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. Twins catchers are 19th in MLB with a .674 OPS in 2024 and 21st with a .219 OPS.

It just so happens that Minnesota is another team that Sanchez has history with, though it wasn't one of his better seasons as he hit just .205 with a .659 OPS for the in 2022. They might instead prefer Haase, whose strong offense they got to witness firsthand when he hit two homers in a game against them at Target Field last Sunday.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are just a half game out of the final Wild Card spot but still have the core where they could make a postseason run. They haven't lacked offense as they are second in the league in runs per game behind just the Yankees, but they could still use some more punch from their catching corps.

Starter Gabriel Moreno has been alright with a .255 average and .715 OPS, but backup Tucker Barnhart has been rough at a mere .173 average and .497 OPS. Moreno is right-handed so Arizona would no longer be able to righty-lefty platoon as both Sanchez and Haase are righties as well (Barnhart is not), but if it results in more offense a trade would still be worth it.

Trading away a catcher is a move that would just make too much sense for the Brewers at this point. It only works, though, if they can find a buyer willing to make a move.