Houston Astros Trade for Milwaukee Brewers Prospect for First Base Depth

The Houston Astros may be paving the way for a potential slugging option at first base with a minor league trade on Tuesday.

Per Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com, the Astros acquired Milwaukee Brewers first base prospect Wes Clarke late Tuesday night. The return wasn’t immediately reported and the Astros had not formally announced the trade.

Clarke has never played in the Majors, but he has a track record of slugging in the minor leagues with Milwaukee. The Brewers drafted him in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB draft out of South Carolina. He was on Milwaukee’s minor league developmental list.

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In 46 games this season at Triple-A Nashville, he slashed .216/.352/.358 with six home runs and 16 RBI. But, before that, he slammed at least 21 home runs in his previous two seasons.

In 2024 with two minor-league affiliates, he slashed .244/.344/.468 with 21 home runs and 72 RBI. In 2023 at Double-A Biloxi, he slashed .241/.392/.497 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI.

For his minor league career, he slashed .234/.366/.451 with an .817 OPS, 68 doubles, one triple, 72 home runs and 250 RBI in 387 games.

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The Astros are, yet again, having slugging issues at first base, a position that has bedeviled them the past few seasons.

Houston committed a three-year deal worth $58.5 million to Jose Abreu before the 2023 season. The former American League MVP was so bad last season — he slashed .124/.167/.195 with two home runs and seven RBI in 35 games — that the Astros released him and chose to eat the final year of his contract rather than keep him.

This offseason Houston lured veteran first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year deal worth $60 million, in the hopes that he could some of the power issues at that corner.

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He hasn’t. The 34-year-old has slashed .212/.277/.359 with a .636 OPS in 69 games, along with nine home runs and 33 RBI. The three-time National League Gold Glove winner is batting nearly 40 points below what he did a season ago.

Clarke probably isn’t an option at the MLB level yet. But the fact that the Astros made a move for potential depth may mean they’re growing tired of waiting for Walker’s bat to respond. Houston has other players it could play at the position, most notably super-utility star Mauricio Dubón.

The young first baseman would also need both a 40-man and 26-man move from the Astros. They would have to be sure Clarke is some sort of answer to the problem.

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