Brewers sign Zaun and Oeltjen

The Brewers reached agreement on a one-year contract with veteran catcher Greg Zaun worth $1.9 million as a base salary with $600,000 in incentives.  A 2011 club option at $2.25 million, with a $250,000 buyout is also part of the deal. The 38 year-old catcher joins his ninth team with the opportunity to be the starter behind the plate.  Based off his track record I don’t see Zaun catching anywhere near his career high 133 games back in 2005 with the Blue Jays.  Adding Zaun to George Kottaras, Mike Rivera, Angel Salome, and Jon Lucroy makes for an interesting battle in spring training.  This signing shows me that they are looking to keep the seat warm until one of the youngsters proves to be ready to go.  I don’t know that you need to have Zaun and Rivera on the big league roster.  I liked the waiver claim of Kottaras and thought that he could get the opportunity to make the big-league club.  The fact that the Rays now get a compensatory pick between the first and second round because Zaun’s a Type B free agent is the biggest side of this story.  Zaun is a serviceable catcher, but for him to net the Rays that high of a compensatory pick should have the Rays front office dancing on the ceiling.   

Here’s how the free agent classification works.  The Elias Sports Bureau set up a statistical system to rank players and Type A free agents rank in the upper 20% of their position groups.  Type B free agents rank in the upper 40%, but not in the upper 20%.  In Lehman’s terms studs are Type A good players are type B.  Type A free agents bring their former club a first round draft pick (second rounder if the signing team is among the first 15 picks overall) plus a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.  Type B free agents bring their former club a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.  Clubs receive compensation if they lose a player classified as a Type A or Type B free agent. If a club loses a Type A free agent, it receives a first-round Draft pick (second-round pick if the signing team is selecting in the first 15 picks overall) plus a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. If a club loses a Type B free agent, it receives a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.  The player must sign elsewhere before Dec. 1 or is offered arbitration and declines to receive the compensatory pick.

The Brewers added depth behind the plate and also in the outfield with the signing of  Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal.  The left-handed hitting outfielder played in 24 games with the Diamondbacks in 2009.  He’s currently playing for Naranjeros de Hermosillo of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico.  In 23 games he’s batting .348 with a .406 on-base-percentage. The Mexican League season ends December 30th.  The Australian outfielder will compete with Jody Gerut for the 4th outfielder job. 

The Brewers transactions so far this hot stove season are very underwhelming to the casual fan.  They’ve also signed two southpaw’s coming back from injuries (Capuano, Halama) and claimed a young catcher (Kottaras).  Fans want to hear about the Brewers going after the top dollar free agents or swinging a deal for Roy Halladay.  I understand that General Manager Doug Melvin is filling out the depth of his roster to provide competition in spring training.  He’s not done making moves yet; there will be more high profile moves on the horizon.

Tags: Brewers, Gregg Zaun, Trent Oeltjen