MILWAUKEE — The Brewers are quite familiar with Frank Catalanotto, the outfielder they signed to a minor league deal Tuesday.

Not only did general manager Doug Melvin know him from his time with the Texas Rangers — where he traded for Catalanotto — but manager Ken Macha saw him play in the minor leagues. Macha was the manager of the Red Sox's Class AAA Pawtucket team while Catalanotto was at Toledo, the top affiliate of the Tigers.

"He can still hit, no doubt about it," Macha said.

Here are some of the other comments Macha and Melvin had about Catalanotto:

- Macha: “He’s not guaranteed getting to the big leagues. He’s going down, he’s going to work out in Arizona and then he’s going to go to one of our affiliates and play. Let’s see what we have.”

- Melvin: “He wants to play and he’s been working out, so we decided, I told him, I said, ‘If things work out, you’d have to still perform for us.’ I said, 'We’re looking from a pinch-hitting standpoint.' "

- Melvin: “Very aggressive player. He could run better than you think. He wouldn’t steal bases, but he was a good baserunner. He hit a lot of doubles, he was a big doubles guy, not a lot of home runs. Hit a lot of doubles, more of an aggressive guy. Won’t strike out a lot, won’t walk a lot. Line drive type hitter, uses the whole field.”

- Melvin wasn't sure which minor league team Catalanotto would join after working out for five to seven days at the team's complex in Phoenix. He said it would depend on the team's schedule, pitching matchups and "where he can fit in."

- Melvin was obviously coy about who Catalanotto could replace on the big league roster, but one answer did give a clue as to what kind of timeframe the club is looking at.

“Two weeks can change a lot of things," he said while being asked about the possibility of Catalanotto taking Brad Nelson's place.