Brewers News: Crew Signs Pair Of Major League Veterans To Minor League Deals

The Milwaukee Brewers are still making some more additions to their spring training roster before Cactus League games get underway later this week, signing a pair of big league veterans as non-roster invites.

If these players play up to their full potential, the Brewers could have grabbed some sneaky upgrades to their roster for a low cost.

The Brewers signed veteran first baseman Luke Voit to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

First up is 1B/DH Luke Voit. It wasn't long ago that Luke Voit was a sought after trade target that some thought would be a good fit for the Brewers. Back then, it was believed it would cost MIlwaukee quite a bit to pry him from the Yankees despite his obvious lack of a home with Anthony Rizzo's presence.

He ended up getting traded to the Padres prior to 2022 and played decently well for them, slugging 13 homers with a .225/.317/.416 slash line and 113 OPS+. However those were some of his worst numbers since his rookie season with the Cardinals in 2017.

Voit was traded at the Deadline last year to the Washington Nationals as part of the Juan Soto trade after Eric Hosmer exercised his no-trade clause, forcing the Padres to include someone else to clear the path for Josh Bell, who was also being acquired by San Diego.

On the year, Voit hit .226 with a 106 OPS+ and 22 homers. He strikes out quite a bit, but is a right handed power hitter. He should benefit from the shift ban in 2023, having been shifted on 77% of his PAs last season with a .307 wOBA against the shift and a .327 wOBA without the shift.

Voit provides a similar profile to the Brewers as Keston Hiura, who is out of minor league options, but with a longer history of success in the big leagues. This signing could spell trouble for Hiura if Voit has a hot spring.

The Brewers signed veteran outfielder Tyler Naquin to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

The second signing the Brewers made on Tuesday morning was bringing in Tyler Naquin on a minor league deal. Naquin is a veteran of seven big league seasons with a career .264/.318/.448 slash line. He has a career 100 OPS+, an exactly league average hitter.

His best overall season was his rookie year in 2016 in Cleveland with a 128 OPS+. He's had two seasons since then that have been above average. Naquin was traded from Cincinnati to the New York Mets mid-season last year and struggled in the Big Apple.

Naquin has some pop, slugging 19 homers in Cincinnati in 2021 in 127 games. The 31 year old is a left-handed hitter and has plenty of experience playing right field. He can help cover that position for the Brewers along with Tyrone Taylor and Brian Anderson until Joey Wiemer is ready.

As non-roster invites, it'll be an uphill battle for these guys to make the team out of camp, but since they have extensive big league experience, they have a leg up on the other NRIs in spring training. Given the state of the Brewers roster at the positions these guys play, there's a decent chance they could make the club if they have a good spring. The door is open.