Brewers Rumors: Crew Pursuing Mets Outfielder In Trade Talks

The Milwaukee Brewers are in hot pursuit of offense at the MLB Trade Deadline. They've already acquired Carlos Santana, but GM Matt Arnold is looking for more.

Meanwhile, the most expensive team in history, the 2023 New York Mets, are having a sell-off amid their disappointing season. The Brewers are doing some shopping.

According to The Athletic's Will Sammon, the Milwaukee Brewers are among teams that are having trade talks with the Mets about outfielder Mark Canha.

The Milwaukee Brewers are rumored to be interested in outfielder Mark Canha of the New York Mets.

The Brewers have a need in the outfield given the struggles offensively from the right field position. While Sal Frelick's presence gives that group a boost, Joey Wiemer's offensive struggles leave room for another bat out there. Mark Canha could be that addition.

It's been a down season for Canha in 2023 actually, hitting just .239/.338/.375 with six homers and a 99 OPS+, just slightly below league average. He's been a well above-average hitter for the previous five seasons, however. Perhaps it's simply a matter of being in New York, where the entire team has struggled that's bringing down his numbers a bit.

Still, despite his "struggles", Canha would be a big offensive improvement over some of the Crew's current options in the outfield. Tyrone Taylor and Blake Perkins have struggled even worse at the plate and Canha would provide a bigger boost to the roster over those players.

However, there is something that's concerning about Canha's profile. He's consistently rated as a poor defender in the outfield. Brewers GM Matt Arnold has previously stated that he doesn't want to add a bat at the expense of defense. Pitching and defense are this team's strengths and he won't want to take away from that.

The good news is that the Brewers have plenty of at-bats available at DH so that Canha, if acquired, would be able to help the team without taking away from the strengths of pitching and defense. Defense doesn't matter at DH.

Contractually, Canha is making $11.5MM this year, although the Brewers would owe him less than half of that if they were to acquire him. He then has a club option for 2024 also for $11.5MM and has a $2MM buyout on that option. The Mets have made money no object and perhaps would be willing to pay down a portion of his salary to move him and acquire a better prospect return.

The Brewers are casting a wide net in their search for offense. Canha may not be the biggest upgrade in the outfield or at DH, but he'd be a definite upgrade. The Mets are selling and Canha likely to go somewhere, and it could be Milwaukee.