The Milwaukee Brewers acquired catcher Omar Narvaez from the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for minor-league pitcher Adam Hill and a draft pick.
Narvaez, 27, gives the Brewers a catching option after losing Yasmani Grandal to the Chicago White Sox in free agency.
Narvaez had a career season for the Mariners in 2019, hitting .278 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs in 132 games and is considered an offensive catcher. He threw out 18 percent of baserunners attempting to steal last season.
“We were fortunate in 2019 to develop really good depth at the catcher spot, with Omar, Tom Murphy and Austin Nola at the big league level, and Cal Raleigh rising quickly in our minor league system,” Mariners vice president and general manager of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “That depth allowed us to make a move today that we think will pay long-term dividends to us, while not impacting us in the short term.”
A left-handed hitter, Narvaez belted 20 of his 22 home runs in 2019 against right-handed pitchers. He could be ticketed for a platoon role with right-handed hitting catcher Manny Pina in Milwaukee.
Grandal signed a four-year, $73 million deal with the Chicago White Sox.
The competitive balance draft pick in the deal is likely to be the 70th overall pick — after the second round — according to MLB.com.
Seattle acquired Narvaez from the Chicago White Sox in 2018 in a trade for reliever Alex Colome.
Hill, 22, is on the move again after coming to Milwaukee in a January trade from the New York Mets for Keon Broxton. The right-hander was 7-9 with a 3.92 ERA and 109 strikeouts at Class A last season. Originally a fourth-round draft out of South Carolina, Hill was rated the No. 24 prospect in the Brewers’ system by MLB Pipeline.
