The Milwaukee Brewers have knowingly expressed interest in a reunion with first baseman Carlos Santana. He was a great addition to the team at last year’s trade deadline and the Brew Crew could currently benefit from adding another first baseman. Jake Bauers and Owen Miller are the primary options at that position right now.
With top free agent first basemen Rhys Hoskins still on the market it is hard to accurately predict what Carlos Santana’s money value is as an available free agent. As spring training draws near it is possible that his cost goes down, but per one MLB Insider there is speculation that Milwaukee is currently unwilling to meet his salary demands.
MLB Insider indicates that the Milwaukee Brewers may be unwilling to meet the salary demands set by first base free agent Carlos Santana.
On the MLB Insiders podcast Robert Murray took time to specifically mention the latest rumors regarding the Milwaukee Brewers. He started off by saying that they are monitoring the first base market and then went into details as to the latest on Carlos Santana as well as another option that they have expressed interest in.
“He (Carlos Santana) made $6.7 million last year and he’s probably due for a raise here in free agency given the year that he is coming off of. To me, I think they go in a different direction. This is just speculation and how i feel with the Brewers.”
“Whenever they try and do stuff at first base they go with a lower cost option and to me this wouldn’t suggest Santana in which he may get $8 million. They may go with a cheaper option and one alternative player that they have expressed interest in is Garrett Cooper.”
It is hard to argue with Murray’s logic regarding why he thinks the Brewers won’t re-sign Carlos Santana. History has shown that time and time again they are unwilling to spend a higher amount of money in free agency and typically look to address holes via trade. When acquiring players near the trade deadline, and with just a few months left in the year, they typically only have to pay a portion of that player’s remaining salary.
If the Brewers do want to add another first base option Garrett Cooper could make some sense. Despite being 33 years old he is coming off a 2023 season where he set career bests in several statistical categories and he was an All-Star in 2022. Cooper would likely cost a few million dollars less than Santana.
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