The 36-year-old carved out a big league career that spanned 14 seasons by being a left-handed bat and versatile. Catalanotto owns a more than respectable .291/.357/.445 batting line with 84 career homers, and he played every position other than pitcher, catcher, shortstop, and center field at one time or another. His best season came with the Rangers in 2001, when he hit .330/.391/.490 with 11 homers, 31 doubles, and just 55 strikeouts in 512 plate appearances.

Catalanotto broke camp with the Mets as a bench player last year, hitting .160/.192/.200 in 26 plate appearances before being designated for assignment in May. He first hinted at retirement shortly thereafter. Catalanotto played for the Tigers, Rangers (two stints), Blue Jays, and Brewers in addition to the Mets, and Baseball-Reference.com has his career earnings at just north of $22MM.

The Long Island-native made the major league squad after signing a minor league deal with the Mets in January.  Catalanotto was brought aboard to be the team's left-handed bat off of the bench, but hit just .160/.192/.200 in 26 plate appearances.  On Monday, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy suggested that the 36-year-old could be a fit for the Brewers who are seeking minor league depth.

In 14 big league seasons, Catalanotto has a career .291/.357/.445 slash line.

Stern, 30, hasn't played in the majors since 2007. He's off to a good start in Triple A Nashville, hitting .349/.429/.442 in 49 trips to the plate. McCalvy wonders if the Brewers could acquire Frank Catalanotto, who the Mets designated for assignment yesterday, to replace Stern at Triple A. Catalanotto was off to a poor start for the Mets, but he did hit .278/.346/.382 in 162 plate appearances for Milwaukee last year.

Gomez isn't the team's only banged up outfielder. Ryan Braun is sitting tonight's game out after being hit by a pitch from Tommy Hanson.

Carter has just 26 big league plate appearances to his name, but he is hitting well at Triple A Buffalo. His .339/.395/.615 line was enough to impress the Mets front office. The 27-year-old's 132 minor league homers suggest he could provide the Mets with some power.

Here are some links from around the baseball blogosphere…

• Rays Index tries to figure out which starting pitcher Tampa Bay will trade after the season.
• At Home Plate thinks John Lackey was off-base with his recent comments about the Angels.
• The Friarhood wonders if the Padres can already be declared the winner of the Jake Peavy trade.
• Nick's Twins Blog says that trading Wilson Ramos is a no-brainer.
• More Hardball looks at some players who are performing well in the big leagues after signing minor league deals this offseason.
• Yankeeist revisits the old Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp trade rumor. 
• Mets Paradise wonders how long Frank Catalanotto and Fernando Tatis will keep their jobs.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

The 35-year-old native New Yorker hit .278/.346/.382 in 162 plate appearances for Milwaukee last year, and he's mostly a corner outfielder/first baseman these days. Catalanotto is a .273/.358/.396 career hitter off the bench, so he could serve as the team's primary lefty pinch hitter. He's also performed significantly better against right handers throughout his career.

The Brewers and Marlins were also believed to have some interest in Catalanotto.

Like Jim Edmonds, who the Brewers added yesterday, Catalanotto is a left-handed hitter with a significant platoon split. He struggles against lefties, but has a career .819 OPS against right-handers.

Some of the issues facing the Brew Crew this offseason are…

• Impending Free Agents: Trevor Hoffman, Claudio Vargas, Mike Cameron, Felipe Lopez, Jason Kendall, Craig Counsell, Frank Catalanotto, and Corey Patterson will all be free agents after the season. The clubs holds a $3.7MM option for David Weathers next year ($400K buyout), and there's a $6.5MM mutual option for Braden Looper ($1MM buyout) that McCalvy says the club "will almost certainly pick up."
• Arbitration Eligibles: Dave Bush, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Seth McClung, J.J. Hardy, Jody Gerut, and Todd Coffey are all eligible for salary arbitration. Coffey, who's been the club's primary setup man, figures to get a nice raise over his current $800K salary.
• Starting Pitching: As I mentioned earlier, Milwaukee sports the NL's worst starting staff. McCalvy reports that "Melvin promised this week that he would be much more aggressive this winter in his search for answers," and that the club might take a "little more chances and risks" than they're accustomed to taking.

The Brewers also have questions about the key up-the-middle positions. They have to sort out the Hardy-Alcides Escobar situation at short, and decide whether to try and retain Lopez or give Weeks another shot at second base duty. Cameron and Kendall have both made it clear they'd like to return, but those decisions will have to wait until the winter.

Milwaukee also must figure out third base, and whether Mat Gamel or Casey McGehee deserves the job. Prince Fielder has the other corner infield spot locked down, and is under contract for $10.5MM next year before being arbitration eligible in 2011, his final year before free agency. McCalvy also mentions that manager Ken Macha faces a lame-duck year next season, and that Melvin is fielding questions about whether another managerial change may be in order.

The Rangers released Catalanotto on April 1st, so they'll pay most of the $6MM owed to him.  He should be useful, having hit .274/.342/.399 last year in 278 plate appearances.

8:31am: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a few Reds notes.

• Jonny Gomes still hasn't decided whether to accept his Triple A demotion or become a free agent.  Walt Jocketty will call Gomes' agent today.
• The Reds are not currently in on Geoff Jenkins or Frank Catalanotto.  They prefer to add a righthanded bench bat, plus Jocketty said Catalanotto doesn't have a position.

• Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Orioles have "mild interest" in Josh Fogg.  If Fogg can't find an appealing job elsewhere he'll report to Triple A Colorado Springs for the Rockies.
• Via the Twitter feed of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer…the Reds have talked about Geoff Jenkins and Frank Catalanotto but nothing is close.
• Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Sports Hochi report saying recently released pitcher Ken Kadokura is reaching out to the Cardinals and Orioles.
• Ryan Shealy cleared waivers and was sent to Triple A, clearing up the Royals' first base/DH logjam.
• The website FINalternatives.com says Rangers owner Tom Hicks defaulted on more than $500MM in loans.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at the payrolls for the Mets and Yankees.
• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says Hal Steinbrenner "told close friends he plans on hiring Lou Piniella as a consultant when his managerial contract with the Cubs runs out after the 2010 season."
• According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres GM Kevin Towers said he still might add another starting pitcher.
• Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated writes about the advanced defensive metrics that are becoming prevalent in the game.
• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs writes about the ethics of service time manipulation.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman noted yesterday that "The Giants like Xavier Nady and wouldn't mind bringing the University of California product home at some point."

Joel Sherman of the New York Post also thinks Sheffield is on the Mets' radar, and does believe they "have held some in-depth discussions on if they should sign the guy."

How about the Dodgers?  Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News talked to Joe Torre, who said it wouldn't make sense.

Click here to catch up on yesterday's Sheffield happenings.

• The Marlins chose Ross Gload over Frank Catalanotto, but are still considering signing Cat for the minimum now that he's been released. 
• The Braves are not interested in bringing back Gary Sheffield.  Meanwhile, Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets (as well as the Phillies and Reds) have an eye on Sheffield.
• Sheffield is apparently the only right-handed hitter on the Phillies' radar.  Rosenthal learned that the Rockies' asking price for Jeff Baker is high.
• The Braves almost made a deal for Dodgers outfielder Jason Repko, but backed off recently.
• The Yankees will pass on Dallas McPherson, but the Giants may consider him.
• The Yanks don't seem desperate to move Melky Cabrera.  They've received multiple calls on him but Rosenthal says "the team will only move him for the right price."

• Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies have acquired RHP Manny Ayala from the San Diego Padres for a player to be named later.  Ayala will probably spend the entire '09 season in the minors.
• According to Steve Holley of Scout.com, the A's have plucked right-hander Rocky Roquet from the Cubs for a player to be named later.  He's another minor league guy.
• The Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti would like the Red Sox to pursure Frank Catalanotto, but writes that there's "no indication that they plan to do so."
• Marc Hulet over at BaseballAnalysts.com reviews the production of the 2008 Rule 5 Draft class.  It's not a very impressive group.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman explores the Rays' and Phillies' offseasons.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wonders if Tony Gwynn Jr. could be on the way out.
• Even with the loss of Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes, the Rockies will come close to setting a franchise payroll record this season.