Sources: Brewers acquire Santana from Pirates

The Milwaukee Brewers acquired first baseman Carlos Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, attempting to shore up a tepid offense as they try to hold onto first place in the National League Central, sources told ESPN.

Santana, 37, was dealt to a contender for the second consecutive season after going from Kansas City to Seattle last year. Long considered a clubhouse leader, Santana will fill in at first base for Rowdy Tellez, who, while recovering from a forearm injury, tore a fingernail on a chain-link fence while shagging batting practice.

In exchange for Santana, who is hitting .235/.321/.412 with elite defense at first base, the Pirates will receive 18-year-old shortstop Jhonny Severino, who signed with Milwaukee for $1.23 million last year and is currently playing in the Arizona Complex League.

The deal was first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

At 57-46, the Brewers have clawed back into the NL Central pole position despite scoring just 423 runs — three fewer than their top-notch pitching staff has allowed. While a resurgent Christian Yelich has paced the offense, only one other season-long regular, catcher William Contreras, has an OPS above .700.

Milwaukee, which shipped closer Josh Hader to San Diego at the trade deadline last season and blew a three-game division lead, was expected to add players on the margins rather than go after bigger-name players.

Santana is owed around $2.5 million for the remainder of the season.