The Brewers have signed 41-year old righty reliever Trevor Hoffman to a 1-year contract. He pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 3-6 with 30 saves, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has now pitched in 929 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 56-66 with 554 saves, a 2.78 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Hoffman has also whiffed 1,055 batters in only 988 career innings showing that he really knows how to pitch. The all-time saves leader was definately worth signing for the Brewers who needed a stopper.

The Brewers have signed 29-year old righty Ryan Houston to a minor league deal. Houston pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 1-3 with 1 save, a 7.54 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. It’s hard to say what the Brewers see in him but he does have a good arm.

The Brewers have signed 27-year old righty reliever Chris Smith to a minor league deal. Smith pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 1-0 with a 7.85 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He also pitched in 37 games (4 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 1-5 with 15 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Smith could help the Brewers’ bullpen in 2009 so this was a nice little signing for them.

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Trot Nixon and 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Duffy to minor league deals. Nixon played in 11 games for the Mets last season and he was 6 for 35 (.171 avg, .579 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. He has now played in 1,092 games in his major league career and he is 995 for 3,627 (.274 avg, .828 OPS) with 579 runs scored, 137 homers and 555 RBIs. Chris Duffy played in 30 games in AA+AAA ball last year and he was 29 for 109 (.266 avg, .749 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Duffy has also played in 193 games in his major league career and he is 183 for 681 (.269 avg, .689 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 6 homers, 49 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. These guys will both have opportunities in spring training to win backup jobs in the outfield and either of them could have a solid 2009 for the Brewers.