5 first basemen options the Milwaukee Brewers should consider

First base has been a revolving door in the Milwaukee Brewers lineup for the past couple of years.

Rowdy Tellez and Jesse Winker struggled to produce at the plate to the point that general manager Matt Arnold had to go out and trade for Carlos Santana to get some production out of the position.

We will address Santana in a moment.

First base, third base, and designated hitter are going to be positions Arnold needs to address this offseason.

Arnold should consider these options to make sure first base is not a hole in the lineup for the second straight season.

Re-sign Santana.

Santana hit 23 home runs last year after splitting time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished with .240/.318/.429 slash line and was a 1.7fWAR player with wRC+ of 101.

He hit 11 home runs when he came to Milwaukee with a .459 slugging percentage.

Santana is a finalist for the Gold Glove at first base thanks to his 11 Defensive Runs Saved. Father Time is not his side as he will be 38 next season. He showed he can still produce and can still provide some power.

Bring Back Mark Canha.

Canha has a team option for $11.5 million. It would not be shocking for Arnold to exercise it like he did last offseason with Kolten Wong and then flip him for a prospect.

He could also bring back Canha to play first base. Canha is not going to provide a ton of power at first base as he hit only 11 homers last year. Canha has only hit over 20 dingers once in his career.

He does get on base as he had a .355 on-base percentage last season. He posted a .444 on-base percentage with the Milwaukee Brewers after they acquired him at the trade deadline.

He also posted a wRC+ of 136 during his 34 games with the Crew. He finished as a 1.6 fWAR player.

Canha is also versatile enough to play left and right field.

Move Christian Yelich to first.

This is just one way of solving the Brewers logjam in the outfield.

The Crew currently needs to find at-bats for up-and-coming players in Joey Wiemer, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick. Tyrone Taylor also proved he is worthy of playing time.

Top prospect Jackson Chourio is also getting close to being ready to contribute to the big-league club.

Yelich is 6’3″ so he has the height to play first. He has been dealing with back problems since 2020, so playing first and DH might allow him to manage that problem better.

Sign Jeimer Candelario or Justin Turner.

These two could solve the Brewers’ problem at first and third.

Candelario is set to be a free agent. He split time with the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs this season.

He hit 22 home runs with a .471 slugging percentage, 117 wRC+, and was a 3.3 fWAR player.

Turner will be 39 next season, but he is still productive.

His slash line was .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs and was a 1.2 fWAR player for the Boston Red Sox. He has a $13.4 million player option that he might want to exercise. At the same time, Turner could roll the dice to see if he can earn a raise.

Although it is highly unlikely the Milwaukee Brewers would pay Turner more than what he is seeking. If he gambles and loses, then the Brewers could see if they could get him at a better price.