Veteran third baseman Jeff Cirillo, a popular and reliable player on the Brewers bench the past two seasons, is on the brink of signing a one-year contract with Minnesota.

A deal will be announced this week, after Cirillo passes a physical examination in Minnesota.

"It's a tough thing to leave Milwaukee," Cirillo told OnMilwaukee.com Monday afternoon from his home near Seattle. "It's very tough. I love the city and I love playing for the Brewers. But, it just didn't seem like it was a fit.

"The Twins are offering a good opportunity for me. They've got a good team and they play twice in Seattle next season, which is important for my family. I just think this is the best move for me now."

Cirillo, 37, who has spent eight of his 13 big-league seasons in Milwaukee, said the Brewers' decisions to sign veteran infielder Craig Counsell as a free agent and retain veteran Tony Graffanino were major factors in his decision.

"I talked to Doug (Melvin, the Brewers' general manager) about it the other day," Cirillo said. "We talked for awhile and he told me that he wasn't sure how it would work in terms of playing time. The Twins are offering me a chance to play a little more. I know I can get in against left-handers, so that was part of it."

Melvin, reached at his office Monday evening, said that he had not heard anything official from Cirillo or agent Ken Felder but was not surprised to hear about Cirillo and the Twins.

"I know that Jeff wanted to stay here badly," Melvin said. "He liked playing here and I liked having him. He's a good pinch-hitter and I think he was a good influence on our younger guys. But, I couldn't guarantee him more than about 150 at-bats. I think with Minnesota, he'll probably be getting around 250.

"I told Jeff that the fact that he is leaving doesn't mean that he can't return here in some capacity, whether its in broadcasting or as a coach."

Melvin said he would be reluctant to trade Graffanino, who was offered salary arbitration by the club, now that Cirillo has decided to sign with Minnesota and that deal will likely be for one year and about $1.5 million.

"We've talked to Tony about a two-year deal," Melvin said. "But, we haven't heard back from them yet."

Melvin signed Counsell and made the arbitration offer to Graffanino to provide insurance in case shortstop J.J. Hardy (ankle) and / or Rickie Weeks (thumb) are slow to recover from surgery. If Hardy is slow to recover or struggles during spring training, the Brewers may decide to send him to Class AAA Nashville for a few weeks in order to get him used to playing again. The health of projected third baseman Corey Koskie, who is recovering from post-concussion syndrome, also is a question.

"It wasn't long ago that we weren't sure we were going to have either one (Counsell or Graffanino)," Melvin said. "Now, we've got coverage. One of our biggest things in the off-season was to find someone who could play short if J.J. (Hardy) goes down.

"A lot of our plans depend on what happens with Hardy. If he gets hurt, we can play Craig. If Rickie (Weeks) gets hurt, Graffanino will play second. We hope Koskie will be all right, but we don't really know and we might take a long look at Ryan Braun at third base. He looks like he's going to be an RBI machine."

Melvin continues to look for trades to ease a logjam in his outfield, but hasn't been able to find a partner.

"The free agent thing has just controlled this whole off-season so far," he said. "I see the Orioles are going to sign Jay Payton. Clubs aren't willing to make trades if they can get a guy without giving anything up. But, we'll keep looking."

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by T15 on Dec. 12, 2006 at 1:04 a.m. (report)

A little disappointed here. Rillo was clutch. Wish him the best. Would have liked a Cirillo bobblehead.

Posted by Red_5 on Dec. 11, 2006 at 7:38 p.m. (report)

Good luck to Cirliio. Always a classy and tough player.

Posted by sandstorm on Dec. 11, 2006 at 7:13 p.m. (report)

i like melvin, but he blew this one. the graffanino deal backfired and it cost us cirillo. not good.