July 27, 2023

For Want of a Nail

The Brewers acquired Carlos Santana from the Pirates for a teenage shortstop:

Santana, 37, was dealt to a contender for the second consecutive season after going from Kansas City to Seattle last year. Long considered a clubhouse leader, Santana will fill in at first base for Rowdy Tellez, who, while recovering from a forearm injury, tore a fingernail on a chain-link fence while shagging batting practice.

In exchange for Santana, who is hitting .235/.321/.412 with elite defense at first base, the Pirates will receive 18-year-old shortstop Jhonny Severino, who signed with Milwaukee for $1.23 million last year and is currently playing in the Arizona Complex League.

ESPN.com

Santana used to be an on-base machine, but since the start of the 2021 season posted just a .318 OBP with some power. At this point, he really should only be facing left-handed pitchers.

Severino is just starting out, and seven of his twelve rookie league hits have gone for extra bases. He’s also 5 for 5 stealing bases.

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