Brewers sign Catalanotto to minor league deal

[Brewcrewin07]

I am sure Catalanatto can play some RF. Heck, who can't?? So, if you want Cam to have some days off shift hart to Center put Cat in RF. Don't forget Billy Hall either....He certainly could spell Cam in CF if need be.

[Ennder]

Why would we want a RH backup OF when we have 3 RH starting OF and a viable emergency OF in Hall who is RH as well not to mention most teams saving their LH pitchers for Fielder. There are very few times during a game that we would want a RH as a PH and in those rare cases we have McGehee and Rivera (when he's healthy).

[patrickgpe]

just throwing this out there, if we wanted a vet off of the bench wouldn't bringing back durham make more sense. we need a late innings righty off of the bench and I think cat is counsell with more power.

[PeaveyFury]

Why did the Brewers sign him. He's older than Nixon and can't play the field.

 

I'm fine with anyone on a minor league deal.

[twobrewers]

My first reaction was "I wish we had just kept Mike Lamb"

 

Then I saw that he was batting .114 in AAA.

 

Then I decided Catalanotto was worth a shot.

 

Then I decided I really miss Joe Dillon - how was he NOT perfect for this team?

[Hate those Rodents]

I think it's pretty sad that, because of how poorly Nelson has produced, people are sticking up for the "decent job" Duffy is doing and thinking he's almost earned his spot for the year. But I am probably reading too much into some post tones (a common message board mistake).

[Blindcheck]

I don't get too excited when i look at potential pinch hitters of Duffy, McGehee, Nelson and Counsel.

 

Counsel would get all the important at bats in my opinion and that leaves you with no defensive replacement in the middle infield if needed.

 

I think you need a dependable veteran to take the pinch hitting duties in the 6th or 7th inning, so you don't waste Counsell or Hall early in the game as they have more versatility in the field if needed late in the game.

[GormanHarvey]

Comments from Macha and Melvin on the signing:

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/44832817.html

[mothershipconnection]

people are sticking up for the "decent job" Duffy is doing and thinking he's almost earned his spot for the year

 

Duffy became the belle of the ball around here during spring training, and I still can't grasp it. I've been a guy who gets excited about mediocre players before, so I'm in no position to criticize, but I can't stand seeing the guy on our major league roster.

[LouisEly]

I would have to think that Hart or Hall could spell Cam in CF twice a month; I believe Hall has already seen some time in LF when Braun was out. I think Hall would be fine with it as long as he knows his primary position is as the starting 3B.

 

Methinks this is just a Gibbons-esque move of insurance.

[berniebrewer4life]

I'm fine with anyone on a minor league deal.

I know it's a small sample size, but the guy is a career .285(i think) pinch hitter. He's worth a line on a deal IMO.

[Invader3K]

Duffy seems to at lest be serving some purpose on this team though. He is good defensively and brings some speed, and at least has a few hits. Not saying he needs to be kept around forever, but he's doing an OK job at least.

[Ennder]

Then I decided I really miss Joe Dillon - how was he NOT perfect for this team?

 

He is RH and the last thing we need is a RH player. I'm really confused by why people keep wanting to bring in another RH off the bench. McGehee has shown that we just don't need that at all. Almost every single PH chance well get this season will be against a RH pitcher and barring injury we shouldn't be resting our regulars against a LH pitcher.

[thunderbat30]

It's unfortunate for Nelson if FC ends up taking his spot. But let's be honest, he's done nothing and looks lost at the plate. I was at the game last night and his swings looked brutal. He's pressing as I am sure he's not an idiot and knows if he doesn't produce it's over but that's just reality.

 

I hope he does get a hit so he doesn't end his career always remembering the year he went 0 for XX.

[naivin]

Of course it has only been 21 AB's, but Nelson has demonstrated no ability to fill the PH roll that he is being asked to fill. Nor would I suggest has there been any indication that he will be able to develop that ability. He has proven he can hit AAA pitching with regular AB's, but at some point this year the Brewers are going to need someone not named Craig Counsell who can come off the bench and get a hit. Nelson probably has about 2 weeks to prove he can be that guy, or its gonna be over for him. The Brewers certainly share in the blame for putting him in a role in which he had no experience, but then again it seems they didn't have much to lose. Not sure they saw much of a significant future for him in the organization anyway, so probably a gamble worth taking.

[Diskono]

I'm actually a little surprised we didn't sign Jenkins. Maybe he still thinks he can get a guaranteed major league deal.

[JJHardy7]

I really like Nelson and this is some 'bad' news, but Brad has to pick it up. It looks like he'll have a few weeks to do just that.

 

I don't know if he will or won't be claimed. If we were a few more months into the season, I could see a team that is out of it or has an injury or two taking a chance. I think he may clear right now...question is whether he'll accept a return to Nashville or for that matter if the Brewers feel they have room for him in Nashville.

[sgtcluels]

I wish big fat Brad Nelson (The Human Chipmonk) would get some results. He has a high ceiling, looks like he's pressing.

 

Imagine that, another patented Doug Melvin Gritty ExRanger Veteran.

[Invader3K]

I'm actually a little surprised we didn't sign Jenkins. Maybe he still thinks he can get a guaranteed major league deal.

Yeah...if he's willing to play for league minimum (he's still getting paid by Philadelphia), I would be surprised if something didn't happen here eventually.

[Fatter than Joey]

I think Brad Nelson is the last remaining OD roster dude to be hitless in MLB.

[Tbadder]

Brad, we hardly knew ye. I'm a Nelson guy too. I wish he'd get some starts against tough righties, but I've never been a huge Hart supporter.

 

But it is true, he's proving himself early on to be wholly unfit for his role. Now, has he had an adequate chance. I really couldn't say; I just know I wish he'd have stuck--all that power in AAA (insert tearfilled face).

[brewers4eric]

Being a barrel chested Iowa farm boy myself, I've been rooting for Brad Nelson ever since he was drafted. I have my doubts that Catalanotto will ever see time in a Brewer uniform, but if he tears it up in the minor leagues, he gives us another option for the bench.

 

Our bench is weak, but as long as our starters stay healthy and hit a generous amount of three run homers, the number of at bats they get is going to be limited. The last two years, I felt that a key indicator of the team's success was limiting Counsell to 150 plate appearances over the course of the season. Currently, he is one of our best pinch hitting options. With that in mind, I think it is obvious that some changes will be made sometime soon.

[giffted1]

However on the other hand I'll say that Nelson has looked better hitting than Duffy. Duffy has swung at a ton of really terrible pitches. Nelson has shown pretty good strike zone judgment but has had problems actually making contact with the ball when he does swing and has displayed warning track power instead of HR power. At this point I'm pretty sure that with 500 AB that Nelson would put up better stats than Duffy, but Catalanotto very well might put up better stats than either of them.

Actually, Nelson's plate discipline has been pretty bad this year. Currently Nelson and Duffy have almost the same O-Swing% at around 31%. Nelson has been making contact with those bad pitches 61.5% of the time, which probably has resulted in a lot of weakly hit balls for outs.

 

It's hard not to feel bad for the guy. Some bad luck leads to not getting a hit, which leads to pressing at the plate, which leads to some bad at bats. It's kinda snowballed on him, and I think putting pressure on him by adding Catalanotto will only make it worse. Hopefully he can turn it around, but as we saw with Turnbow, sometimes the problems that are in your head are the hardest to address.

[TooLiveBrew]

I really like Nelson and this is some 'bad' news, but Brad has to pick it up. It looks like he'll have a few weeks to do just that.

 

I'm glad this isn't just an outright release of Nelson/add of Catalanotto. I firmly believe that he's going to get some results & pretty soon.

 

The notion that we might lose Nelson really reminds me of how Grant Balfour was handled, and clearly (imo) the Brewers would have been better off just trusting that Balfour hadn't forgotten how to be an effective pitcher.

[logan82]

Duffy became the belle of the ball around here during spring training, and I still can't grasp it.

 

I think it is because many don't realize he if TGJ in disguise.

 

I believe Hall has already seen some time in LF when Braun was out.

 

About an inning. He was out there until he strained his hamstring.