Russell Branyan Signed

That was a close one! Reports are that Branyan has signed a 1 year deal for $800,000. He still may be traded this off season (bullpen lefty is the best guess), but Melvin probably wouldn't trade him for nothing. I would guess that he'd rather not have Cirillo as the ONLY other option at 3B.

I'd like to see Hall get maybe 30-35 starts between SS and 2B, just so he can still be looked at as a middle infielder in a potential trade down the line. He'd have alot more value there. Cirillo and Branyan can fill in at 3B when Hall is playing elsewhere.

EDIT: Found out that Branyan's contract is non-guaranteed, so it's hard to imagine that there's much if any interest in him league wide. Wouldn't he have opted to become a free agent and test the market otherwise?