Unable to find a job six weeks after his release, Gibbons, in a letter to all 30 Major League Baseball teams, acknowledged he had made a mistake. He offered to donate his minor league salary to charity if he was given another chance to play in the majors.

Now, Gibbons, 31, who was released by the Orioles at the end of spring training, is expected to spend the next 10-to-14 days at Double-A Huntsville before being promoted to Triple-A Nashville, if all goes according to plan. He had been playing with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

"He's a little rusty, self-admittedly rusty," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said according to MLB.com. "The idea is to get him some minor league at-bats and then evaluate as we go along."

Ash was the Blue Jays' GM when that team drafted Gibbons in the 14th round in 1998. The Orioles acquired him in the 2000 Rule 5 draft.

"They sat down and basically interviewed him," Brewers GM Doug Melvin said, according to MLB.com. "Gord is familiar with him from Toronto, and [Gibbons] wants to get back and playing. I don't know exactly what his [off-the-field] issues were, but they were not enough to not give a guy a second chance. He's always been a good guy with a good work ethic."

Gibbons was released by the Orioles on March 30 for what the team said were baseball performance-related reasons. After batting .277 in both 2005 and 2006, Gibbons struggled in 2007, batting .230 with 62 hits and a .348 slugging percentage.

MLB