JAN. 14: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has a breakdown of the contract, reporting that Izturis can earn $875K in the big leagues with another $375K in incentives. He'll get $25K for appearing in 90 games, $50K for appearing in 100 and 115 games, $50K for 75 starts, and $100K for 90 and 115 starts. The contract also allows Izturis to request his release if he's not added to the 40-man roster by March 30th.
DEC. 21: The Brewers have signed Cesar Izturis to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. In a team release, the Brewers announced they've also signed left-hander Juan Perez to a minor league deal. Both players will receive invitations to Spring Training.
Izturis spent the last three seasons in Baltimore, hitting .240/.283/.292 in 958 plate appearances for the Orioles. Although the 31-year-old didn't provide much pop at the plate, his defense continues to be rated favorably by advanced metrics — Fangraphs puts his career UZR/150 at +7.6 or better at shortstop, third base, and second base. If he makes the Brewers' big league club, Izturis figures to provide depth behind Rickie Weeks, Alex Gonzalez, and Aramis Ramirez.
The 33-year-old Perez, meanwhile, has seen limited Major League action with the Pirates and Phillies. With the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate at Lehigh Valley in 2011, Perez recorded a 5.70 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Almost a month later lol
The Brewers could use a couple defense-first guys in the lineup. The no-defense-at-all years have been painful. It’s just killed them (and the fans) at many times.
Izturis, Bianchi … it’s clear that the front office is looking for some significant upgrades on infield defense, if only from the bench.