Brewers Claim Vinny Capra From Pirates

The Brewers have claimed infielder Vinny Capra off waivers from the Pirates, according to an announcement from Pittsburgh.

Capra, 27, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 20th round back in 2018 out of the University of Richmond, where he played shortstop for the Spiders.  Though never a top prospect, Capra got the call to make his MLB debut with the Jays in late April of last year.  He picked up only seven plate appearances for Toronto, but was able to log his first big league hit with a single off Brooks Raley.

Capra had middle finger tendon surgery in October 2022, after which the Jays non-tendered him.  He’d managed a 114 wRC+ at Triple-A that year, playing shortstop, third base, and left field.  Capra re-signed with the Jays on a minor league deal, but was traded to the Pirates in late April of this year for catcher Tyler Heineman.  After more solid work at Triple-A, the Pirates selected Capra’s contract on trade deadline day.  He moved up and down and picked up only 21 plate appearances, including his first big league double off the Royals’ Angel Zerpa.

Milwaukee is not a bad place to land for an aspiring utility infielder.  They currently project to have Brice Turang at second base, Willy Adames at shortstop, and Andruw Monasterio at third base.  Only Adames’ role seems secure, except that the Brewers may consider trading him given a projected $12.4MM arbitration salary.  The Brewers do have Owen Miller and Abraham Toro also on the 40-man roster as infield depth, plus third base prospect Tyler Black close to making his big league debut.

Considering the claim of Capra, the re-signing of Colin Rea, the declining of options for Andrew Chafin and Justin Wilson, and Wade Miley’s pending free agency, the Brewers currently have 34 players on their 40-man roster.  That could drop further if the Brewers choose to non-tender Toro, Rowdy Tellez, or Brandon Woodruff by the non-tender deadline about two weeks from now.