The Milwaukee Brewers have signed 40-year old righty reliever Takashi Saito to a 1-year deal. Saito pitched in 56 games (0 starts) with the Braves last season and he was 2-3 with 1 save, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He only gave up 41 hits in 54 innings while whiffing 69 batters showing just how dominating he still is. Saito has pitched in 292 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 17-13 with 84 saves, a 2.19 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Saito will be the set-up man for the Brewers in 2011 and I really think this was a really good pickup for them.

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed 31-year old righty reliever Sean Green to a 1-year deal. Green pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Green has now pitched in 250 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 10-11 with 2 saves, a 4.36 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Green has walked 127 batters in only 258 innings in his major league career so the Brewers will need to get him to throw more strikes. If they are successful in improving his control, then they are really going to have something here.

The Brewers have signed 29-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Edwin Maysonet to a minor league deal. Maysonet played in 90 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last season and he was 79 of 319 (.248 avg, .637 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Maysonet last played in the majors in 2009 with the Astros. Maysonet has played in 46 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 21 of 76 (.276 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Maysonet will get a chance to win a bench job for the Brewers next spring.

The Brewers have signed 30-year old righty swinging catcher Shawn Riggans to a minor league deal. Riggans played in only 4 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 3 for 10 (.300 avg, .800 OPS) with 2 RBIs. He last played in the majors in 2009 with the Rays. Riggans has played in 64 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 38 of 188 (.202 avg, 622 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 7 homers and 28 RBIs. Riggans will be a longshot to make the Brewers next spring but it never hurts to give a guy like him a chance.

The Brewers have claimed 24-year old righty reliever Roque Mercedes off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Mercedes pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the D-Backs last season and he was 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.36 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He has now pitched in 168 games (53 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 24-26 with 11 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Mercedes spent his first 4.5 years in the minors with the Brewers so they know him well.

UPDATE: (2/4/2011) - The Brewers have designated Roque Mercedes for assignment to make room on the roster for Mark Kotsay.