Alex Gonzalez

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Brewers have signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal with a vesting option.

Full terms of the contract aren’t yet known. Gonzalez, 34, batted .241/.270/.372 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI over 593 plate appearances this past season for the Braves. While he’s a much better fielder than Yuniesky Betancourt, they are pretty much a wash offensively. With Milwaukee officially off the board, Jimmy Rollins looks even more likely to return to Philadelphia, though there’s an outside chance St. Louis could emerge as an interesting alternative.

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Cardinals and Brewers are also interested in Alex Gonzalez.

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday evening that the Giants have already had discussions with the free agent Gonzalez. But now it appears that San Francisco has some competition. Gonzalez, 34, batted .241/.270/.372 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI in 593 plate appearances this past year for the Braves.

The Giants are talking to free agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

ESPN Deportes had the story first. Gonzalez was not offered arbitration by the Braves last week after batting just .241/.270/.372 across 593 plate appearances in 2011. But he has decent raw power and would be a significant upgrade over Brandon Crawford out in San Francisco. He’s likely seeking a two-year contract.

Alex Gonzalez was not offered arbitration by the Braves.

The Braves had a chance at securing a supplemental draft choice for the Type B free agent, but they didn’t want to risk the chance that Gonzalez would accept arbitration and make something close to $3 million in 2012. The 35-year-old batted .241/.270/.372 with 15 home runs, 56 RBI and a .642 OPS over 593 plate appearances this season while playing his usual solid defense. The Braves will be on the hunt for a shortstop this winter as they look for a short-term bridge to prospect Tyler Pastornicky.