Outfielder and first baseman Mark Canha has signed with the Brewers on a minor league deal, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal includes an invite to big league Spring Training.
Canha, who celebrated his 36th birthday last week, is vying for a big league job ahead of what would be his 11th MLB season if he makes it onto a roster this year. The veteran was a seventh-round pick by the Marlins all the way back in 2010 but did not make his big league debut until 2015 as a member of the Athletics. Canha spent seven seasons in Oakland and, after struggling early in his career, broke out to become one of the club’s most important players from 2018 to 2021. That four year stretch saw Canha slash a solid .249/.366/.441 (126 wRC+) while splitting time between all three outfield spots.
During that time, Canha walked at an excellent 12.1% clip and struck out only 21.2% of the time. That solid plate discipline made up for Canha’s relatively lackluster power production. The veteran has only ever eclipsed 20 homers in a season once, when he crushed 26 bombs during a 2019 campaign that saw a league-wide power surge. Canha’s solid work with the A’s was enough to earn him a healthy two-year, $26.5MM guarantee from the Mets in free agency prior to the 2022 season. His work in a Mets uniform was mostly solid, and in 2021 his 126 wRC+ was enough to make him a key cog in the 101-win team’s lineup alongside fellow outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte.
He took a step back in his age-35 season last year, however, and hit just .245/.343/.381 with a pedestrian 104 wRC+ in 89 games for the Mets in the first half of the season. Canha wasn’t alone in struggling on that Mets club, and the under-performing team sold aggressively that summer ahead of the trade deadline. Canha was among the players moved, and he found himself traded to Milwaukee on deadline day. The veteran split time between the outfield, first base, and DH for the Brewers down the stretch and enjoyed a resurgence at the plate, hitting .287/.373/.427 with a 120 wRC+ over his final 50 games as he helped lead the club to a division title.
The Brewers held a $11.5MM club option on Canha’s services for the 2024 season, but did not have interest in bringing him back into the fold at that price tag. That didn’t mean Canha was headed back into free agency, however, as Milwaukee instead traded him to Detroit in order to avoid paying the $2MM buyout and acquire minor league reliever Blake Holub. The Tigers then exercised his option and seemed poised to make him a key part of their outfield mix early in the year. Strong performances from players like Wenceel Perez and Parker Meadows largely squeezed Canha out of the outfield, however, and he instead wound up splitting time between the outfield corners, first base, and DH throughout the first half of the season until he was traded to the Giants just before the trade deadline over the summer.
Canha returned to free agency on the heels of a decent campaign where he slashed .242/.344/.346 (102 wRC+) overall. The now-36-year-old offers virtually no power at this point in his career, having slugged just seven homers in 2024, but his plate discipline and on-base ability remain well above average. Canha figures to offer the Brewers a solid depth option in case of injuries throughout the Spring, but it’s difficult to see where he fits on the club as presently constructed. Rhys Hoskins remains entrenched at first base even after a down 2024 season thanks to his $18MM salary, and a combination of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich, and Sal Frelick appear to have the outfield mostly covered. If Canha manages to force his way onto the roster, perhaps he can serve as a right-handed complement for an entirely left-handed Brewers outfield that recently lost switch-hitting center fielder Blake Perkins to the injured list due to a shin fracture while also occasionally spelling Hoskins at first base.
Blockbuster move for the brewers
Amazing deal. Potential all star weak platoon at multiple positions for absolutely free.
I was surprised to see, during his short time with the Crew he did accrue some “1.1oWar” but his defense was worth “-.4 dWar” seemed he looked/played well particularly at first…. the #’s say otherwise huh….perhaps that’s what’s behind his “cheap availability” but I can only imagine the Crew are thrilled to bring him back/get him for Major League camp without having to make any real financial commitment..also was worried when Margot “signed” a similar deal, that we may see him taking AB’s in Mil this summer, Thank God The signing of Canha/roster flexibility all but rules that out..for now at least, but back to the “point”…. With all the guys, heck “Connor Joe” getting major League deals well how is ol Markie Mark CanHAAAA available yet on a “minors” deal?
YourDreamGM
Absolutely! Canha on a minor league deal as insurance is stellar. He’d have been an improvement for many teams in their regular OF rotation. He must have enjoyed Milwaukee and they enjoyed him. Good deal
Good pickup
Crazy. Guy was league average and 1 WAR last year and only getting a minor deal?
A lot of league avg / no power 36+ year olds out there. Supply and demand.
There are a few with a little pop left without a contract.
@Longtimecoming
This response is overly simplistic and ignores key factors. First, “league average” is still a valuable trait—teams routinely sign players who provide that level of performance, especially those with a high OBP like Canha. Second, while power is important, it’s not the only determining factor in signing a player. Plenty of teams sign players for OBP, plate discipline, and positional flexibility—Canha checks all those boxes. Third, if “supply and demand” were the issue, then why do lesser players (or those with bigger flaws) still get guaranteed contracts? Rhys Hoskins, for example, is coming off a down year and is owed $18M, despite his defense being a liability. It suggests that power obsession still clouds evaluations, even when OBP and defensive versatility have tangible value.
I’m not sure Hoskins is a good example because he was 30, had a .332 OBP, and was a 3 WAR player last when Milwaukee signed him. Plus, there’s a 0% chance he would’ve signed for $18M this past offseason if he were a free agent. He would’ve probably gotten a very low guarantee or had to settle for a minor league contract himself.
“A lot of league avg / no power 36+ year olds out there.”
^^^^ Name three.
Damn – David Peralta, Kevin Pillar and Anthony Rizzo.
And that is a week + into ST when a few others have been given their last shot.
A team might elect to give that spot to a 24 year old to see what might come up as opposed to watching the last hurrah. Especially, if the demanded a mlb contract and $5 mil.
And that with AJ habit just scooped up Joe, Jeyward and Yuli to take those 3 off the market.
Whit Merrifield, Anthony Rizzo, Brandon Belt.
Short-sighted to look at last year only. If you go back and look at his stats, you’ll see that he’s been trending downward for four straight years now. Not sure what WAR you’re using – B-R has him at 0.6. Even at 1.0, that was half of what he did the year before. And he was barely league average on balance, but he accomplished that by hitting lefties above average and righties below. Thing is, RHers make up 71% of all starters, so its fair to think that teams see him as a platoon-only. Its plausbile that further decline renders him useless. Factor the likely part-time player status and you can see why teams would want to insulate themselves against that risk by not giving him a guaranteed roster spot.
Fangraphs had Canha at 1.0 WAR last year, and project him for 0.7 this year.
@
Cherry-picking the downward trend argument: Yes, Canha’s overall numbers have declined slightly, but the decline isn’t steep enough to justify a minor-league deal. He posted a 120 wRC+ in Milwaukee after the trade deadline and finished with a 102 wRC+ overall. That’s still major-league caliber. If every veteran whose numbers declined was relegated to a minor-league deal, half the league wouldn’t have a contract.
WAR Discrepancy: Baseball-Reference (bWAR) and FanGraphs (fWAR) evaluate WAR differently, and fWAR tends to be a better indicator for hitters because it accounts for plate discipline and baserunning in ways that bWAR sometimes undervalues. If Canha’s fWAR is 1.0, that still makes him better than plenty of guaranteed-contract guys. If 1.0 WAR is worthy of a non-roster invite, then what does that say about guys who posted negative WAR and still got deals?
Platoon Argument is Overblown: Yes, Canha was better against lefties, but he wasn’t useless against righties. His OBP remained strong, which still provides lineup value. If RH starters make up 71% of pitchers, that’s actually an argument for keeping a high-OBP guy in the lineup to get on base against them, rather than relying solely on boom-or-bust power hitters.
Risk Aversion Excuse: Teams have given guaranteed contracts to far riskier players—aging sluggers with massive platoon splits, injury-prone hitters, and guys whose OBP is far worse. If Canha is a “risk” at 1.0 WAR and a 102 wRC+, then how do you explain all the one-dimensional power hitters or glove-first guys with a wRC+ in the 80s getting contracts?
Dang, Old York moonlights as Canha’s agent. A full throated defense of the Canha signing.
York – I’ll counter with another simplistic yet proving fact: Canha was without a contract of any kind until 2/22/25 and then accepted what he did. If all mlb teams (or any) followed your approach they would have scooped him up on an mlb contract before Christmas.
You are entitled to your opinion though and of course he may surprise with a “one more good year” but sadly, most don’t.” Father time is undefeated and gets us all eventually.
He’s settling for a minor league deal because he is strictly a niche player and doesn’t fit anyone’s ml roster at the moment. Same as Rizzo. Old and doesn’t catch or play CF. Why would a team commit to such a player when there are younger, cheaper, more versatile and higher upside options out there? He’ll still have the mandatory opt out option available to pursue any other interests. The important part is to be playing and allowing the market to evaluate you now. Something Rizzo conveniently doesn’t address when whining about not being given a guaranteed deal when’s he’s being paid $6 mill to not play at all this year.
Could maybe have preferred Milwaukee and been waiting to get that worked out.
Solid career. Outstanding leader and role model on last year’s Tiger team. Really seemed to keep the young Tigers settled and became a strong voice. I wish him well.
Yeah, as a Mets fan, I always thought he seemed like one of the good guys .
Also: good restaurant reviews
a bargain
You pay attention to the teams that keep returning to prominence and notice they build an entire team, including complementary pieces and a bullpen.
Reds: Agreed in general, but it’s no insult this is an old guy by pro athlete standards being mediocre at best. God bless his health, but Cincy hiring of Francona was its best move in years that can maximize its chance/narrow the gap of challenging a way better run Milw franchise (Krall isn’t good. More talented execs around mlb could do more with their limited budget….what they pay Candelario/Nick Martinez please!)
Is it safe to say that the rest of the FAs will only get minor league deals with invite to the spring training and opt outs? JD? Robertson? Gibson?
You never know what these idiots will do.
They’re holding out for more money than teams would like to pay. Verdugo as well. Gotta wait for more S.T. injuries to happen. Rizzo may be the only one who may take a MiLB deal at this point.
Canha corn.
2023 was not “last year”
Good call. I am surprised it has not been corrected yet.
He took a step back in his age-35 season last year, however, and hit just .245/.343/.381 with a pedestrian 104 wRC+ in 89 games for the Mets in the first half of the season.
Nice pickup, glad to have him back. The article had a mistake, Chourio is right-handed, the other three outfielders are lefty.
It is Nick Deeds. If you read not expecting him to get all the facts correct, then you won’t be disappointed. Read the headline on his articles. Go elsewhere for the details.
This one was all over the place and skipped around in time willy-nilly.
There’s another mistake. It says he was with the Mets last year, but he wasn’t. Simple mistake, and the rest of the article had the place in time correct. But I was was wondering if I was crazy for a second like Yo! He was with the Tigers the first half of the year “last year”.
If he makes the club would be a good complimentary piece at 1b with Hoskins and DH.
Rizzo was right.
A guy who was a solid MLB hitter last year on a minors deal. That’s a steal.
A+
Nice complementary piece to have in the organization
Canha is probably a better 1b and a better hitter than Hoskins at this point. Almost $20 million difference in salary.
Bummer, I was hoping to see him back with the Mets.
Yeah see you can’t help but feel for these guys. No way Canha didn’t deserve an MLB contract, but at the same time good on him for taking it. He’ll most likely make that roster.
It’s what I said this morning in the Rizzo thread, he is inherently right, but you gotta read the room and play ball so to speak.
But!
At the same time, the Players Union needs to do something about the treatment of veteran players or what the league minimum should be or something to even the playing field a little. These teams waiting for these bargain bin deals really do drag down the whole system.
I agree. I have often thought about veteran reserve roster spots to expand the 26. Allowing teams to semi retire players but allow them to play a minimum/maximum number of games. Including minor league and asst coach. This might actually solve some of the double digit term contractual obligations without constipating the prospect pipeline and co time to drive revenue with marketing.
I like this idea or some form of it. Have at least a couple spots on the roster reserved for players over 35 that must be filled to start the season and after a certain amount games can be converted if needed.
Would make an interesting playoff appearance if they met the minimum number of games during the season minor or major.
Or cover for briefly injured players and the like. A guy like Rizzo go back to veteran reserve status for the Yankees or Cubs without contesting a 26 man roster spot but a Swiss Army knife spot as a full in bench player/1st base coach/pinch hitter DH in this case maybe cover for Giancarlo for a bit.
Only a minor league deal? I’m surprised the Mets didn’t grab him. You never know what kind of depth you’ll need and a minor league deal is nothing. Shocked a team like the White Sox didn’t sign him for a few million to try to flip him at the deadline.
i love this man, i hope he hits 20 homers
Mark Canha can play 1B
Taking a shot at a comeback. Great Guy! Good career.! Likely at the end of the Road!
I like this signing by the Brewers. Will likely make the team and will be a good depth piece on the roster. Good OBP guy. The article I think is not fair to him as it indicates he had a decent campaign with .242/.344/.346 102wRC+ and later with a pedestrian season with .245/.343/.381 104wRC+. What are the stats here, decent or pedestrian?
Winning organization making a winning move. Cleveland does it well too.
Two seasons ago when Canha was with the Brewers and the Brewers offense could not hit their way out of a wet paper bag with a pair of scissors and a butchers knife, Canha was one of those players who stood out for his obvious abilities. Excellent signing.