Brewers bring in Voit and Naquin on minor league deals

*Photo from the Washington Post*

   It's never a bad idea to beef up on depth. The Milwaukee Brewers have signed 1B Luke Voit and OF Tyler Naquin to minor league contracts with invites to major league spring training, according to the team's transactions page.

   Voit adds a right handed hitting first baseman to the Brewers depth chart in spring training. Voit was a part of the blockbuster trade deadline deal between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres, with Voit being one of several players traded to Washington in exchange for Soto and first baseman Josh Bell.

   Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Voit that "Luke's been a really good hitter in this league, and he's a bat. He's a hitter. And not long ago, he put up some very, very good seasons. So, it's another option with the bat, and we'll kind of see how that shakes out."

   Last season for Voit was split between coasts, with the Padres and Nationals. The slugger ended the season with a .226 batting average, .402 slugging percentage, and .710 OPS, blasting 22 home runs with 69 RBI's and 22 doubles in 135 games played.

   Voit has played in the majors for 6 seasons, suiting up for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, the Padres, and Nationals. In that time, Voit has amassed a .254 batting average and .818 OPS, adding 272 RBI's and 95 home runs in 486 games played. In the playoffs, Voit has a .214 batting average with one home run and 6 RBI's in 12 playoff games.

   The other piece coming to town is Naquin, who fills a lefty hitting outfielder need for the Brewers, with Tyrone Taylor and Brian Anderson, the favorites for playing time in right field, both are right handed hitters. Naquin has primarily played center and right field in his career.

   Counsell talked about adding Naquin, saying that "The outfield is the one place maybe we're lacking depth a little bit, so to add a veteran to come here and compete for a spot, we thought it was the right guy to add. I think that's the spot that there's going to be some competition and we have some decisions to make, so Tyler fits in that group now."

   Naquin spent the 2022 season split between the Cincinnati Red and New York Mets, being dealt to the Mets at the trade deadline. Naquin ended the season with a .229 batting average and .705 OPS, hitting 11 home runs with 46 RBI's in 105 games played.