Brewers trade for first baseman Carlos Santana

The Brewers have acquired first baseman Carlos Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for prospect Jhonny Severino, the team announced Thursday afternoon.

Santana has slashed .235/.321/.412 with 12 homers and 53 RBIs (98 OPS+) across 94 games with the Pirates this season. A 14-year veteran, Santana’s career slash line is .242/.357/.431 with 290 homers (114 OPS+).

The addition of Santana will provide the Brewers with some depth, as first base has been an area of struggle for the Crew this season. Between injuries (Rowdy Tellez and Darin Ruf) and a lack of production (.231/.290/.354 with a 74 wRC+ this season), the Brewers have been in desperate need of help. Santana’s bat should help provide at least some stability to Milwaukee’s lineup down the stretch.

To open a spot for Santana on the active roster, Milwaukee optioned reliever Trevor Megill to Triple-A Nashville. A 40-man roster spot was already available for the addition of Santana.

In return for Santana, the Pirates received Severino, an 18-year-old international player who signed with the Brewers in early 2022. In parts of two seasons at rookie ball in the Brewers system, Severino slashed .264/.324/.432 with seven homers and 35 RBIs across 60 games. While Severino wasn’t on Milwaukee’s top 30 prospects list, he was one of two major international signings for the Brewers last season, per Pirates beat writer Jason Mackey.