Brewers: What's Next? 3 Moves To Make Following Carlos Santana Trade

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The Milwaukee Brewers completed a trade to help out the offense, acquiring first baseman Carlos Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Santana's a veteran, an excellent defender, and can provide some help to the Brewers lineup even though his numbers haven't been great this year, they've been better than what the Brewers currently have.

Santana is a nice addition, but there's more to come. The Brewers can't let this Trade Deadline pass by with Carlos Santana being the only player they brought in to help the offense. They won't. There's more trades to come before the Deadline passes on Tuesday.

The first domino has fallen. Now, the question is, what's next? Here's a couple of possibilities for the Brewers to do next following the Carlos Santana trade.

Brewers next move to make #1: Trade for Nationals 3B Jeimer Candelario

The corner infield spots have been disappointing this year for the Brewers. Now that Milwaukee has upgraded one corner spot at first base, next up should be upgrading the other corner spot at third base.

Jeimer Candelario would be the best third baseman on the market at the Trade Deadline and he fits what the Brewers are looking for. He's an excellent hitter that provides some thump and consistency with 16 homers, a .256 average, and 127 OPS+, he's a switch hitter, and he's an excellent defender at third base.

The Brewers don't want to sacrifice defense to get a quality bat. Carlos Santana may not have been the best first base bat on the market, but he was the best defender at first base and provided an improvement with the bat over Milwaukee's current options. With Candelario, the Brewers can acquire both an excellent defender and an excellent, impact bat.

Candelario is also a rental, due to be a free agent at the end of the year and is only making $5MM this season, of which the Brewers would only be on the hook for a fraction of if they make the deal.

This is a match made in heaven that the Brewers should jump all over. After getting Santana, Jeimer Candelario should be Matt Arnold's next move.

Brewers next move to make #2: Trade for Marlins IF/OF Jon Berti

The Brewers need help all across the field and rumors are they're looking for middle infield help. I don't envision Milwaukee trading for a shortstop like a Tim Anderson or a Paul DeJong, but it's no secret there hasn't been enough offense up the middle for Milwaukee.

One option that may be a bit under the radar but would fit Milwaukee's needs is Jon Berti of the Miami Marlins. Berti can fit in anywhere in the field you need. He has experience this year at second base, shortstop, third base, and the corner outfield. He's been an excellent defender across the board, which is something the Brewers are looking for.

On top of his excellent and versatile defense, Jon Berti is hitting .297 this year with a career low 18.1% strikeout rate. Berti also has speed, leading the league with 41 stolen bases last season, although he has swiped just 11 bags this year.

Berti is also affordable and controllable. He's making just $2.1MM this year and has a club option for $3.5MM for next year. He then has one more arbitration year remaining, so he's under control for 2.5 years at an inexpensive rate. Not bad for a guy hitting nearly .300 on the year.

The downside to Berti is that he doesn't provide much power. Just two home runs this year, he's never hit more than six home runs in a season in his career. Of course, hitting for such a high average and getting on base with a low strikeout rate still provides plenty of value to a Brewers lineup in need of such things. His defensive excellence and versatility will fit the Brewers needs. If second base needs some offense, Berti can do it. If right field needs help, Berti can play there.

Acquiring Berti would give the Crew a solid bat that can handle all of the rest of the positions of need after the Santana acquisition and, hopefully, after a Candelario acquisition. Even if Candelario doesn't come to Milwaukee, Berti plays plenty of third base and can provide a solid bat there, even if home runs aren't a part of his game.

Brewers next move to make #3: Trade for Rockies LHP Brent Suter

After the bats are acquired to help address the offense, the Brewers could always look to get more bullpen help. Milwaukee's been looking for one more bullpen arm to step up and they're likely to add at least one arm before the Deadline passes. Rather than get a bullpen arm they haven't been familiar with, because all those recent trades for relievers haven't worked, they should get one they are familiar with.

Brent Suter would be the perfect addition to the Brewers bullpen that is in need of another lefty. Justin Wilson is due to return from the injured list which gives them another lefty in the pen but because he's been hurt, there's a chance he won't be as sharp as the Brewers need.

Suter has been his usual excellent self this year even though he's out in Colorado. He has a 2.51 ERA in 34 games and has kept the ball in the ballpark. The Rockies are way out of the race in the NL West and they are looking to sell off a bunch of players. Suter is on that list.

As a left handed reliever, Suter is sure to be in high demand at the Deadline. The team that will want him the most though is probably the team that knows him the best, and that's the Milwaukee Brewers. The clubhouse culture in Milwaukee is something that's important to the team's success and getting guys that are good fits for the culture is key. Carlos Santana is seen as an excellent clubhouse presence and leader which is partly why the Brewers got him.

Suter was seen as a glue guy in the Brewers clubhouse in previous years. Getting him back would be a great addition to the bullpen on the field and a great addition to the organization.

The Carlos Santana trade was a good move, but the Brewers have more on their to-do list. Any or all of these three trades would be logical next steps for Milwaukee to take.

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