The Milwaukee Brewers have picked up the club option on the contract of leftfielder Carlos Lee for the 2006 season, it was announced today by Brewers Executive Vice President and General Manager, Doug Melvin. Per club policy, no financial terms were disclosed.
"This was not a difficult decision for us to make," Melvin said. "Carlos filled our greatest need last year by excelling in production from the middle of our order. He is established as one of the leagues top run producers and exceeded our expectations from the outset."
Lee hit .265 in his first season as a Brewer in 2005 and set career-highs in home runs with 32 and RBI with 114. He was the only Brewer to play in all 162 games. Named to his first career All-Star team in 2005, Lee broke the Brewers team record for RBI before the All-Star break, plating 76 runs.
A trade brought Lee to the Brewers on December 13, 2004. He came from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Scott Podsednik, pitcher Luis Vizcaino and Travis Hinton. He spent his first six seasons in the Major Leagues with Chicago.
