Brewers Sign Francisco Rodriguez

6:08pm: Rodriguez will get $2MM or more if he makes the big league squad, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

5:23pm: The Brewers officially announced that they have signed Francisco Rodriguez to a minor league deal.  Milwaukee has 30 days to assign the reliever, who will train at the club's spring training facility in the interim.

The 31-year-old Rodriguez appeared in 78 games for the Brewers last season and posted a 4.38 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 72 innings. He initially came to Milwaukee from the Mets in a trade during the final year of the three-year, $37MM contract he signed to be New York's closer. The Brewers offered Rodriguez arbitration following the 2011 season, and he made the surprising decision to accept, leaving GM Doug Melvin on the hook for an $8MM salary.

In his 11-year career, K-Rod has a 2.70 ERA, 11.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 720 2/3 innings. His 294 saves rank 25th all-time, and he set the all-time single-season saves mark with 62 back in 2008 with the Angels.

MLB.com's Adam McCalvy first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal.  Steve Adams contributed to this post.