According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports, the Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of signing a one-year agreement with former Atlanta Brave shortstop Alex Gonzalez.
Below are the statistical comparisons between Gonzalez and former Brewer Yuniesky Betancourt from last season.
| GP | AB | Runs | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG. | |
| Yuniesky Betancourt | 152 | 556 | 51 | 140 | 13 | 68 | 16 | 63 | 0.252 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 149 | 564 | 59 | 136 | 15 | 56 | 22 | 126 | 0.241 |
As you can see the offensive numbers are very similar. Two major areas of concern are strikeouts and batting average. Gonzalez struck out exactly twice as much as Betancourt did and batted .011 points less.
However, the Brewers did not get Gonzalez for his bat, they got him for his glove. In 633 defensive chances Gonzalez had 187 putouts, 434 assists, 79 double plays turned and committed only 12 errors for a 98.1 fielding percentage. Comparably, in 606 defensive chances Betancourt had 167 putouts, 418 assists, 85 double plays turned and 21 errors committed for a 96.5 fielding percentage. It should be noted that the average fielding percentage for the league is 97.1%.
As long as Gonzalez can cut down on his strikeouts and stay consistent as a defensive player, this is a good deal for the Brewers. Not to mention they won’t have to pay the $6 million that Betancourt will most likely get some place else.
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelTerrill for Brewer updates.
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