Milwaukee signed Todd Ritchie to a one-year, $750,000 contract yesterday. After experiencing an off year with the White Sox, Ritchie was looking to return to the National League. The Brewers were interested in obtaining him as an innings eater for their rotation, as the price was quite nice.

I'm somewhat concerned that his struggles last season were related to the shoulder injury revealed at the end of the year, and he may not have fully recovered. However at this price, the Brewers don't need him to rebound very far to receive their money's worth. He should slot in as their three behind Ben Sheets and Glendon Rusch with Nick Nueugebauer behind him. Matt Kinney likely deserves the fifth spot in the rotation, but they have several candidates. If Ritchie goes down for the year, they certainly shouldn't be short of replacements, but I don't feel he's crowding out anyone that has unquestionably earned a spot in the rotation.

Milwaukee signed Dave Mlicki to a one-year, $750,000 non-guaranteed contract last week. I suspect that he'll break camp with the team, though it should be as a long reliever rather than as a starter. The 34-year-old has struggled with his walk rate for a few years now, which is never good news for a control pitcher. He may be able to command the ball better if he doesn't have to focus on pitching the consecutive innings of a starter. Provided they don't allow him to push someone more deserving from the rotation, this isn't a horrible signing. The injury problems he suffered last year shouldn't affect him in 2003. Mlicki reportedly can earn up to $750,000 in incentives.

The Brewers signed the arbitration-eligible Valerio de los Santos to a one-year, $925,000 contract. This salary seems a bit high considering that de los Santos' skills weren't his sharpest last season. However, he is the top lefty in the pen and prior to Tommy John surgery had the stuff to justify this kind of money. Hopefully now that he's further removed from the injury, he'll rebound.

Keith Osik signed a minor league deal with the Brewers, though if he makes the team he will reportedly earn $455,000. Considering the collection of catchers Milwaukee has assembled, I certainly hope they don't choose to go with Osik. The 34-year-old displayed decent plate discipline in 1998 and 2000, but the even year pattern didn't repeat itself in 2002. He can usually take a walk, but his strikeouts represent a considerable flaw in his offensive skills, and he offers only very moderate power. I'm still waiting for former Texas current Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin's catcher fixation to bring Ivan Rodriguez to the Brewers.

Mike Buddie also signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee. The 32-year-old Buddie has never shown strong skills in the majors, and considering the number of candidates Milwaukee will have for their pen, I don't think he'll find an opening out of Spring Training. If they run into multiple injury problems, he gives them some cushioning at AAA.

Meanwhile the shared former team of Ritchie and Osik, Pittsburgh, signed Matt Stairs to a one-year, $900,000 contract in mid-December. The Pirates will want to platoon Stairs, as he traditionally performs very poorly against left-handed pitching. It's been announced that he'll share right field with Craig Wilson, but though Wilson has a platoon split favoring lefties, he hits almost as well as Stairs against righties. However, Stairs is much better at taking a walk and offers considerable power upside.

The arbitration-eligible Brian Meadows signed a one-year, $600,000 split contract with the Pirates in mid-December. He'll only make $150,000 when he pitches in the minors, but he can earn an additional $375,000 in performance bonuses. Meadows doesn't have any extraordinary skills, but he can be an effective starter when needed. At the moment, he seems likely to break camp in the rotation, but this contract makes it quite convenient for Pittsburgh to demote him if they want the spot for someone with more upside.

The Pirates have signed several minor league free agents, including OF-R John Barnes, C-R Blake Barthol, MI-R Tomas de la Rosa, 3B-S Kevin Nicholson, RHP Mark Corey, RHP Nelson Figueroa, RHP Ariel Prieto, and RHP John Wasdin.

Barnes has spent all of his AAA time in hitters' parks, so it's somewhat difficult to objectively analyze his upside. Last season at AAA Colorado Springs, he hit .286 with a .340 OBP and .442 SLG on 77 H, 20 2B, 2 3B, and 6 HR with an 18:16 BB:K and 5/9 SB% in 269 AB. His promising plate discipline shouldn't be affected by a more difficult hitting environment, but his power potential likely isn't quite as good as it appears from these numbers. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is a good guy for the Pirates to have stashed at AAA in case of injury to one of their major league outfielders.

Colorado drafted Barthol out of Eastern Kentucky University in the 21st round of the 1995 draft. After gaining free agency, he three times signed with the Mariners. The 29-year-old can take a walk and has some power potential, but he hasn't been able to produce at a level worthy of a back-up job. I don't expect the Pirates will have an opening for him during the 2003 season.

De la Rosa's plate discipline has deteriorated rather than improved over the past few seasons. He offers some speed skills, but those will probably fade quickly as he ages and he has no power worth mentioning. The Pirates should have sufficient options in the infield so that they shouldn't need to call upon the 24-year-old in 2003.

Nicholson couldn't even make himself look good while spending most of last season at AAA Colorado Springs. While he's done better in the past, I don't expect the 26-year-old to make a sufficiently strong showing in the Pirates system to warrant a call-up during the year.

Mark Corey is best known as the Met pitcher who suffered a seizure and admitted to drug use last year. If he can avoid off-field problems, Corey has potential as a reliever. While he had some control problems in the majors, he compiled a 37:7 K:BB with 14 H and 1 HR allowed in 26.1 IP for a 1.03 ERA at AAA. The Pittsburgh pen is overflowing already, but if they're able to deal some hot relievers for prospects during the season, the 28-year-old Corey should be a capable replacement.

Figueroa doesn't seem likely to find work as a starter any time soon, so the 28-year-old should really consider a full-time move to relief, where he could potentially dominate. He could make a spot start for the Pirates, but I find it more likely he pitches a few innings of relief at some point during the year.

Prieto missed most of 2001 with shoulder problems and didn't pitch last year. Before his injury trouble he had decent upside as a middle reliever. I don't expect him to be at the top of the list to fill bullpen openings in the majors, but the 36-year-old could re-emerge at AAA this year.

The 30-year-old Wasdin spent last season in Japan. Considering he continued to have problems with hits and homers overseas, where those figures are normally reduced, I don't expect him to contend for comeback player of the year. However, his past major league experience will likely put him among the first pitchers Pittsburgh considers if they have a bullpen opening and he's pitching well at AAA.