Milwaukee Brewers minor-league hitting coordinator Sandy Guerrero (left) works with first baseman Chris Carter during spring training drills Wednesday in Phoenix. Credit: Roy Dabner

By of the

Phoenix — Chris Carter speaks softly but carries a big stick, as the old saying goes.

He also makes no apologies for it.

"I don't really say too much," the 6-foot-4, 250-pound slugger said with a chuckle. "I guess that's just how I've always been, and how I am still."

Be that as it may, the Milwaukee Brewers are hoping the six-year veteran will be able to make some noise this season at first base, a position that has been a revolving door since Prince Fielder departed via free agency following the 2011 season.

Since then a whopping 22 players have started at least one game there, and the Brewers remain in the market for a more permanent solution.

Adam Lind, the primary starter last year, was the Brewers' most productive first baseman since Fielder. In 134 starts and 138 games overall, he hit .277 with 20 home runs and 80 runs batted in while posting an OPS of .820. But he was traded to the Seattle Mariners on Dec. 9.

It was assumed the Brewers would replace Lind with the younger, cheaper Jason Rogers, but he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates a little over a week later, leaving the team no starting-caliber candidates at the position.

Enter the 29-year-old Carter, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million free-agent contract with the Brewers on Jan. 6. The deal, which also includes another $500,000 in possible incentives, is much smaller than the $4.175 million pact he received in 2015 while a member of the Houston Astros.

The reason? Carter is coming off a year in which he batted just .199 and at one point lost his starting job. He still managed to hit 24 homers and drive in 64 runs, however, and hit .353 with six homers and 10 RBI with a 1.376 OPS over the final 15 games to help Houston clinch the American League's second wild-card playoff spot.

It was that strong finish that Carter is hoping to carry over to the Brewers this season.

"For me, I think I need to come out stronger this season," he said. "Last year I was stronger at the end of the season. It's just more so trying to be consistent.

"I can't really put a finger on why (I was better late). I was playing less for us in July and August and it was just one of those things I think maybe it meant more, those at-bats that I did get, because of the time frame and we were in the playoff chase.

"Doing whatever I could to help us win games and get us to the playoffs."

Milwaukee isn't expected to contend for the playoffs for the foreseeable future, so the pressure on Carter figures to be more internal as he seeks to bounce back and put the ball in play more regularly as the Brewers' likely cleanup hitter.

He's never batted better than .227 in a full season and has struck out an average of 182 times over the last three years, but Carter focused this off-season on trying to become a more well-rounded hitter.

"This off-season I worked on just hitting all line drives and hitting to all parts of the field instead of just pulling because I was getting shifted on a lot last year," he said. "Hopefully this year I can hit a few more balls the other way."

Asked if there's still room for improvement in Carter's game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he believes there is. But he pointed out that Carter has been among the most consistent power threats over the last three seasons. His 90 homers during that span are the eighth-most in the major leagues.

Carter's most productive season came in 2014, when he homered 37 times and drove in 88 runs to go along with that .227 average.

"No player is ever going to be satisfied," Counsell said. "I think Chris has had better seasons. If you've had better seasons in the big leagues then you're always going to be on that road for improvement.

"In the end it's about creating runs. Offensive players all do it differently and Chris is kind of at one extreme of doing it.

"He's hitting 38 homers, whatever his batting average is, we'll be OK....He's going to take his walks. It's producing runs, and Chris does a good job of producing runs."

A productive season from Carter would give the Brewers more trade bait around the deadline for a team seeking power. But he also doesn't reach free agency until 2019, which could also lead to him sticking around if he proves to be a good fit.

"I'm not going to be thinking that I'm the guy," he said. "I'm just going to go out work hard every day and do the same things that I would be doing if I wasn't starting. Just keep the same approach and have fun out there."

Counsell said he won't start focusing on potential backups to Carter until the second half of spring training. But aside from Jonathan Lucroy, he mentioned Will Middlebrooks, Garin Cecchini and Shane Peterson as players he wants to take at look at over at first base in Cactus League play.

"Versatility helps on a National League roster," Counsell said. "I want to answer the big questions first, and then we'll get to the other questions like that.

"We have choices."

BY THE NUMBERS

4 Players who started a game at first base for the Brewers in 2015 (Adam Lind 134, Jason Rogers 22, Jonathan Lucroy 5, Shane Peterson 1).

9 Consecutive games with a run batted in from June 27-July 5 last season for Lind, tying George Scott (1975), Cecil Cooper (1982) and Carlos Lee (2005) for the club record.

109 Home runs hit by Chris Carter over his six-year major-league career.

212 Strikeouts for Carter in 2013, most in the American League.