Pirates trade Carlos Santana to Brewers
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded first baseman Carlos Santana to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop prospect Jhonny Severino, the clubs announced Thursday.
Santana joins the sixth team of his career, bringing a veteran presence with playoff experience to a Brewers club leading the National League Central division by 1.5 games over the Cincinnati Reds.
The 37-year-old should provide the Brewers with first-base production considering the injury and underperformance of Rowdy Tellez, who has only hit 12 homers after belting 35 in 2022.
"We are thrilled to add Carlos," Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "He is a switch-hitting power bat and quality defender. His veteran presence and winning attitude will also be a valuable addition to the clubhouse as we continue our push to the postseason."
Santana owned a .235/.321/.412 slash line with 12 home runs, 25 doubles, and 53 RBIs in 94 games for the Pirates, while playing fantastic defense at first base. His six defensive runs saved leads the majors at his position.
Severino is not among the Brewers' 30 best farmhands on MLB Pipeline, but the Dominican is a highly regarded prospect who signed for a $1.2-million bonus in January 2022.
The 18-year-old posted a .250/.289/.583 slash line with 10 RBIs in 12 games in the Arizona Complex League.
The Pirates may not be done swinging deals before the deadline. Rich Hill, David Bednar, Mitch Keller, and Colin Holderman are all generating trade interest, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.