The Milwaukee Brewers traded minor-league slugger Wes Clarke to the Houston Astros in exchange for cash, the team announced June 18.
Clarke wasn’t on the 40-man roster but had been playing at Class AAA Nashville. Drafted as a catcher out of the University of South Carolina in 2021, the 25-year-old had flashed intriguing power at points in his career, including 26 homers at Class AA Biloxi in 2023.
He slugged 21 homers in 2024 over two stops, with 18 in Nashville, and posted an .812 OPS. This season, he’s hit six homers in 182 plate appearances, with a .710 OPS. He also hasn’t done much catching in recent years, setting up behind the plate for 33 games in 2023, then just six last year and none this year, staying at first base or designated hitter.
Clarke has struggled with strikeouts, including 55 this season, though he still owns a strong .352 on-base percentage at Nashville. In his career, he has 471 strikeouts in 1,618 plate appearances. Last year, he struck out in 34% of his plate appearances.
It doesn’t appear — at least initially — that Houston will immediately add the right-handed batter to the big-league roster. Clarke has not yet made his Major League debut. The Brewers also have first-base options at Class AAA in Tyler Black, working his way back from injury and on the 40-man roster, and fellow left-handed slugger Ernesto Martinez.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers trade minor-leaguer Wes Clarke to Astros for cash
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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