[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers have claimed, and been awarded the rights to, 23-year old middle infielder Chris Gonzalez. The move was made primarily because with the loss of second baseman Justin Banks in free agency, the second base job will be up for grabs with several players in the running, most especially 25-year old Nick Mull, who has been our highest rated infield prospect for a few years, as well as 25-year old Mike Garcia, and possibly even 23-year old Matt Enders, who is more likely to end up in a multi-position utility role. Mull is an excellent defender and very speedy but looks to have just an average hit tool while Garcia is mostly bat first with some pop and has already gotten some playing time in the past at D.H. Enders profiles best as a third baseman but with some more experience should also be a plus second baseman (and an above average shortstop, and heck, even a pretty decent corner outfielder). But his batting profile is even a bit less promising than Mull's though his makeup also makes him valuable (sparkplug, and was considered a captain previously in AAA).

With some 40-man roster space and given that he still has 2 option years left it didn't seem like it could hurt to add Gonzalez to this mix given that it isn't clear that any of them is a clear cut frontrunner to win the position long-term.