Major League Baseball’s exhibition season is fully underway, but that isn’t stopping teams from making last-minute additions to their rosters. With that in mind, CBS Sports will compile all of Sunday’s most notable developments and rumors in the space below for your consuming pleasure.
The Brewers have agreed to a minor-league contract with veteran outfielder Mark Canha, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Canha, 36, spent part of the 2023 season with the Brewers. He’ll return to Milwaukee having split last year between the Tigers and the Giants. He batted .242/.344/.346 (99 OPS+) with seven home runs and seven stolen bases across 125 games. Canha’s contributions were worth an estimated 0.6 Wins Above Replacement, the lowest mark of his career since the 2017 season.
Canha figures to compete for a bench spot with the Brewers. In theory, he could even work himself into a timeshare with lefty-hitting outfielder Sal Frelick. That’s just a theory at this point, though, and there’s reason to be skeptical about Canha given his below-average power production. Teams generally want more thump from their corner players.
Of course, the Brewers may be one of the teams willing to look the other way in that respect given they do employ Frelick — plus there’s the recent development that saw them lose outfielder Blake Perkins for some time due to a fractured shin.
Canha is classified as an Article XX(B) free agent — he has more than six years of service time; he ended last season on a big-league roster; and he signed a minor-league pact more than 10 days before Opening Day — meaning that he’ll have a few opt-out opportunities available to him that will require the Brewers to either add him to their roster, pay him a retention bonus, or release him to free agency entirely. The first of those opportunities comes five days before Opening Day.
Rangers sign Pillar
The Rangers have inked veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar to a minor-league contract, the team announced.
Pillar, 36, will attend big-league spring training and will attempt to win a job in camp alongside the likes of Evan Carter, Wyatt Langford, Leody Tavares and Adolis García. He split last season between the White Sox and Angels, compiling an 88 OPS+ across 100 games. His contributions were worth an estimated 0.4 Wins Above Replacement.
