The Brewers have signed 33-year old 3B Aramis Ramirez to a 3-year deal. Ramirez played in 149 games for the Cubs last year and he was 173 of 565 (.306 avg, .871 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 26 homers, 93 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,683 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,788 of 6,293 (.284 avg, .842 OPS) with 873 runs scored, 315 homers, 1,122 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. This was a good signing for the Brewers who are likely going to be without both Ryan Braun (50 game suspension) and Prince Fielder (free agent) in 2012.

The Brewers have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Travis Ishikawa to a minor league deal. Ishikawa played in 56 games in AAA-ball for the Giants last year and he was 44 for 175 (.251 avg, .751 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He last played in the majors in 2010 with the Giants. Ishikawa has played in 281 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 160 for 603 (.265 avg, .727 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 15 homers, 80 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Ishikawa will get a shot to win a bench job with the Brewers next spring.

The Brewers have re-signed 35-year old righty swinging catcher Mike Rivera to a minor league deal. Rivera played in 1 game for the Brewers last year and he was 2 for 6 (.333 avg, .667 OPS). He also played in 61 games in AAA-ball for the Brewers last year and he was 46 for 193 (.238 avg, .714 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 7 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Rivera has now played in 189 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 131 of 548 (.239 avg, .674 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 13 homers, 69 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Rivera will compete for the backup catcher job this spring for the Brewers.

UPDATE: (3/30/2012) - The Brewers have released Mike Rivera.

The Brewers have signed 34-year old righty swinging shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a 1-year deal with a vesting option for 2013. Gonzalez played in 149 games for the Braves last year and he was 136 of 564 (.241 avg, .642 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 15 homers, 56 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,535 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 1,372 of 5,552 (.247 avg, .690 OPS) with 641 runs scored, 152 homers, 665 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Gonzalez is a much better defensive shortstop that Yuniesky Betancourt is and he also has good power for a shortstop. I really like this move for the Brewers.

29-year old righty reliever Francisco Rodriguez has accepted arbitration from the Brewers. The Brewers have to be shocked at this, as they thought he would leave for sure and they would net some draft picks. But, with all of the closer’s jobs getting filled up rapidly, K-Rod decided to accept arby and he will get paid around $13 million bucks for 2012. Rodriguez pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last year and he was 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Rodriguez pitched in 73 games (0 starts) overall for the Brewers & Mets last year and he was 6-2 with 23 saves, a 2.64 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. K-Rod has now pitched in 604 games (0 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 36-27 with 291 saves, a 2.51 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Rodriguez is #24 all-time in major league history in saves (291), which is probably one of the reasons he was exploring signing with a team that would let him close. In the end though, Francisco Rodriguez is going to be an outstanding set-up man for John Axford in 2012.