Brewers Re-Sign Alex Gonzalez To One-Year, $1.5 Million Deal

I guess we can safely cross one question mark off the Brewer bench, as they've likely found their backup shortstop. Ken Rosenthal (via Adam McCalvy) is reporting that the team has re-signed Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million plus another possible million in incentives. That's a pretty significant pay cut from the $4.25 million he took home in 2012.

Gonzalez turns 36 in February, and 2013 would be his 15th major league season. He was hitting .259/.326/.457 for the Brewers in April when a torn ACL ended his season after just 24 games. Gonzalez is a career .247/.292/.399 hitter, so those numbers would've represented something of a career year.

Having Gonzalez on the roster gives the Brewers a pretty solid option at shortstop should Jean Segura get injured or need more time in the minors. Segura is still only 22, so it'd be a bit of a reach to expect him to effectively play 150-160 games this season.

With that said, shortstop is the only position Gonzalez has ever played in the majors. He's handled 1536 games out there, the 51st most in major league history. Expect to see him play some second and third this spring to make sure he'll be available as a bench player out there if needed.

The Brewers' 40-man roster is full at this point, so someone will have to be removed to make room for Gonzalez. Adam McCalvy suggests that Miguel De Los Santos, who will be out for Opening Day following shoulder surgery, could be placed on the 60-day DL, although that may not be an option yet.

This signing is probably bad news for the likes of Donnie Murphy, Bobby Crosby and Jeff Bianchi, who just saw their chances to make the Opening Day roster significantly diminish barring injury.