Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while staying indoors.

The Brewers may have wrapped up their offseason shopping yesterday, signing reliever Takashi Saito to a one year, $2 million deal with incentives for games finished that could push the value up to $3.2 million. (FanShot) Saito turns 41 in February but has posted a 2.19 ERA in five major league seasons since coming over from Japan, striking out 366 and walking just 94 in 299.1 innings. He's missed some time with nagging injuries but has made 50+ appearances in each of the last two seasons.

Here's some reaction to the Saito deal:

• Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker says the Brewers "should expect 50-60 very strong innings" from Saito.
• Sooze of Babes Love Baseball says she's "not sure how Saito will improve the pen."
• The Bucky Channel says Saito "probably becomes the best pitcher in the Brewers bullpen with this move."
• Howie Magner likes the move, unless it precludes the Brewers from getting help at shortstop.
• Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs said "For a team with so much riding on a single season, signing Saito makes plenty of sense."
• Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar noted that Saito pitched just 5.2 innings in September while dealing with shoulder tendinitis, and said "you have to hope the Brewers aren't depending on him to throw 50 innings this year."
• Toby Harrmann says the signing is great news for Chris Narveson.

I'll have to admit I'm a little torn on the move. When I initially saw it I wondered why an aging reliever like Saito was worth more to the organization than Todd Coffey, who projects to be significantly more durable. The more I think about it, though, the more the move makes sense: With the addition of Greinke and Marcum the bullpen shouldn't need to be used as often, so it's possible the Brewers could manage to limit Saito's innings enough to keep him healthy and effective. And when he's healthy, he's clearly very good.

While one new Brewer is on his way in, an old one is on his way out: Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt the Brewers are no longer interested in re-signing Chris Capuano (FanShot). Capuano has been part of the Brewer organization since coming over in the Richie Sexson deal before the 2004 season, and ranks among the Brewers' all time leaders in the following categories:

There's a good chance Capuano will land on his feet, though: The Mariners are rumored to be interested in his services.

With the 40 man roster full, are the Brewers done shopping? MLB Trade Rumors took a look at NL Central team needs and said the Brewers don't need anything.

I couldn't come up with a witty transition for this, so I'll just toss it in here: Batter's Box Interactive has ten photos of Shaun Marcum as a Blue Jay.

In the minors:

• Brewerfan.net unveiled their latest Power 50 yesterday. They've moved Mark Rogers up to the #1 spot.
• Also at Brewerfan, Toby Harrmann took a crack at projecting 2011 rosters throughout the organization.
  

Around baseball:

Mets: Acquired shortstop Chin-lung Hu from the Dodgers for a minor league pitcher.
Rangers: Signed pitcher Brandon Webb to a one year, $3 million deal with over $5 million in possible incentives.

Today in former Brewers:

• The Hall of Very Good has a look at Dave Parker's HOF credentials.
• Aaron Gleeman listed Larry Hisle as the 27th best Twin of all time.

Looking for something to do with this year's leftover Christmas money? Eno Sarris of NotGraphs spotted this list of minor league baseball teams for sale. There are certainly worse things you could do with your money.

Happy birthday today to:

• 2002-09 Brewer Bill Hall, who turns 31.
• Madison native Zane Smith, who turns 50. Smith played 13 major league seasons from 1984-96 with the Pirates, Braves and two other teams.

Finally, I wanted to take a moment this morning to thank all of you for stopping by and continuing to do so. Sometime yesterday BCB passed 3 million visitors. Apparently December is the month for milestones around here: We passed one million in December of 2008 and two million in December last year. Thanks again to all the writers, commenters, linkers and lurkers that have made BCB the success that it is, and I hope you'll continue to do so.

Drink up.