I love transactions. Even (especially?) the little ones.
The Brewers picked up catcher Eric Munson off waivers from the Astros. Rotoworld doesn't get it, and I'm not sure I do either. Consider this the 2008 version of J.D. Closser. I guess it means that Mike Rivera really isn't going to get a shot. Anyway, if we're looking for a "good"-hitting (quotes to remind you we're talking about a minor league catcher here), weak-fielding catcher, I'd rather have J.R. House. Maybe this is retaliation for the Astros claiming Dennis Sarfate.
More on Munson: MLB career stats / MILB career stats and splits.
My system projects Munson to hit 229/290/380. That's about par for the course for backup catchers, if not a little better. What's distressing is that there's so little upside: my 80th percentile projection for his is 236/312/390.
We also DFA'd Mike Jones, which is sad, but inevitable. Over the last few years, I've had Jones and Manny Parra in my head as a matched set of long-shot injury rehabbers, and if you had told me two years ago that one of them would end up as good as Parra is right now, I would've been very happy with that.
The other fun news today, in addition to Dunn staying put, is that the Cardinals have signed Joel Pineiro to a two-year, $13MM deal.
...
[pardon me, I just choked on my water because I was laughing so hard.]
Actually, I'm not willing to make fun of the Cards too much on this one for two reasons. First, I thought it was hilarious that they signed Ryan Franklin last offseason, and Franklin was actually pretty good. Granted, Franklin was cheaper.
Second, Pineiro might be okay--unlike half of the Cardinals starters, he's actually, you know, a starter. SPs are going to be expensive this season--though probably not this expensive--and this is not going to be anywhere close to the ugliest deal a starter signs this offseason.
All that said, I'm glad that, if Pineiro got $13MM, he didn't get it from us. I'm not glad, however, that he's in the division, because I spell his name wrong almost as often as I screw up Teixeira.