Ex-Cal Standout Mark Canha Traded to Brewers

Former Cal standout Mark Canha is changing teams.

The struggling New York Mets traded Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in exchange for minor league pitcher Justin Jarvis.

Canha, an outfielder who can also play first base, is one of three former Golden Bears in the major league along with the Rangers’ Marcus Semien and the White Sox’ Andrew Vaughn.

Canha played a significant role in the Mets’ 101-win season in 2022, hitting .266 with 13 homers. He is hitting .245 with six homers in 89 games this season for the Mets, who are a disappointing 50-55 and 17½ games out of first place in the National League East.

He joins a Brewers team that is 57-50, just 1½ games out of first in the NL Central. They can use a veteran presence like Canha, who is in his ninth major-league season, including seven seasons with the Oakland A’s.

The Brewers hope Canha can provide a spark to their offense, which has not been productive this season. The Brewers’ on-base percentage of .312 ranks 25th in the majors, and Canha has a .343 on-base percentage this year and had a .396 on-base percentage while with the A’s in 2019.

"He's a guy that we're excited to have," Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said of Canha, according to ESPN.com. "He's somebody that's been a productive big league player now for a long time. He still is a versatile guy as well. Between what he's done over the course of his career offensively and also with the ability to play the outfield, first base, DH, etc., he's somebody that we think can help us here down the stretch."

Canha's two-year, $26.5 million contract could expire at the end of this season, although he has an option for the 2024 season.

"He's probably going to play a lot of right field," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, according to ESPN.com. "That's going to move Sal to some center field, so we'll have to kind of mix and match with the outfielders. We have the DH spot obviously that's going to be in play too. Whether it's Christian [Yelich] or Mark with some DH at bats, it opens that up too."

Canha played three seasons at Cal (2008-2010) before being drafted in the seventh round of the major-league draft following his junior season.

Cover photo of Mark Canha by Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

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