Brewers reach deal with Spivey
MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers signed a pair of infielders on Friday, both bearing
familiar names and both looking to bounce back in 2005.
Junior Spivey agreed to forego his right to an arbitration hearing when he
signed a one-year, $2.125 million contract with incentives that could push it
to the $2.6 million he requested in arbitration.
That news came minutes after it was learned that former All-Star third
baseman Jeff Cirillo had agreed to sign a minor league contract that will pay
the Major League minimum if he makes the cut.
"His agent called me several times earlier in the winter and I told him we
just didn't have a spot for Jeff," said Brewers manager Doug Melvin, who
appeared set at third base with Russell Branyan and Wes Helms.
So Cirillo, who batted .312 in 26 games this winter for the Mexican League's
Los Mochis Sugarcane Growers, started calling on his own behalf.
"Jeff kept calling and calling," Melvin said, "and he was very persistent
about coming back. Finally I said, 'What the heck? There's nothing to lose
with this.'"
Melvin said the veteran, who was to earn $7 million with the Padres this
year, agreed to a deal with "no outs, no incentives, no bonuses. He just
wants to play."
Now 35 and coming off three disappointing seasons, Cirillo will report to
Spring Training in search of the sweet swing he first brought to Milwaukee in
1994. His .307 batting average over six seasons with the Brewers is a
franchise record that still stands.
But those days are long past for the team's former 11th-round draft pick.
After being packaged in a multi-team trade with the Rockies and A's following
the 1999 season, Cirillo had two good years at thin-air Coors Field. But he
fell off dramatically after signing a lucrative multi-year contract and
moving to his hometown Mariners in 2002, and continued to struggle after a
January 2004 trade sent him to San Diego.
Cirillo batted .300 or better in three of his seasons with the Brewers (1996,
98, 99) and both of his seasons in Colorado, but things got tough after that.
He inked a four-year, $26 million contract with Seattle, but batted .249 in
2002 and .202 in 2003, prompting a trade to the Padres in which the Mariners
swallowed much of the $14 million remaining on Cirillo's contract.
He did not stick in San Diego, either. Cirillo hit.213 with one home run and
seven RBIs in 33 games and was waived in August.
Melvin said the team will look at Cirillo at first, second and third base and
will consider using him as a bench player or an insurance policy against
injury. Cirillo told the club he would be willing to accept an assignment to
Triple-A Nashville.
If he wins a job as a backup, Cirillo could play behind second baseman
Spivey. The 30-year-old was one of two arbitration-eligible players with a
hearing scheduled for this month (Ben Sheets is the other).
In his first season with the Brewers, Spivey batted .272 with seven home runs
and 28 RBIs last season, but was limited to 59 games by a shoulder injury
that required midseason surgery. The injury made for a difficult arbitration
case. Spivey, who earned $2.367 million last season, was asking for a raise
to $2.6 million, while the Brewers proposed a cut to $2 million.
"He recognized that, and he agreed to take a cut in pay," Melvin said. "If he
goes out and plays every day, he has a chance to get to $2.6 [million]."
Melvin said the team dispatched a doctor to Dallas, where he signed off on
the health of Spivey's left shoulder.
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