MILWAUKEE -- His first big contract apparently is not going to change Matt Wise. Shortly after agreeing to a two-year, $1.7 million contract to return to the Milwaukee Brewers, he went out to dinner with his wife and paid with a gift card.

"I guess nothing changes," Wise joked.

The Brewers avoided salary arbitration with their top returning setup man late Thursday, signing Wise to a two-year contract that buys out his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He will earn $700,000 in 2006 and $1 million in 2007.

Wise, 30, was 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 49 appearances last season as one of two primary setup men for closer Derrick Turnbow. A changeup specialist, Wise ranked second in the Majors with a .160 opponents' batting average.

"He's a hard worker and we feel that he can succeed in a number of roles for us -- whether that's as a setup guy or a sixth- or seventh-inning guy who can give you more than one inning," general manager Doug Melvin said. "He's flexible that way."

Said Wise: "I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be here for two more years. I'm really excited about it."

Assistant general manager Gord Ash handled negotiations with Wise's agent. He said that discussions about a two-year contract materialized quickly in the past few days.

"From a risk point of view, we were not talking about significant dollars," said Ash, pointing to the lofty market for relief pitching. "We were very comfortable with this."

Wise gets the security of a two-year deal and, if he pitched anything like he did in 2005, the Brewers get a relative bargain. But the deal does carry some risk because Wise is just two seasons removed from being sidelined with a major elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He also missed much of August and September of last season with shoulder spasms attributed to fatigue.

"Clearly he has that [injury] history," Ash said. "That is part of the risk we're taking here, and that's why we felt we could only go to the [financial] level we went to. Matt does not have the track record of other pitchers signing two-year deals."

Wise participated in a Brewers minicamp earlier this week and has been working out with Brewers strength and conditioning coordinator Dan Wright. Wise hopes the extra work will help strengthen his shoulder for another long season.

"I feel great right now," he said. "It's just something we have to pay attention to. I need to do a better job with the weights during the season to keep my arm in shape."

Ash said he expects newly re-acquired right-hander Dan Kolb to handle the bulk of setup duties, leaving Wise free to pitch the middle innings. Hard-throwing right-hander Jose Capellan is another candidate to share that role.

In two seasons with Milwaukee, Wise is 5-6 with a 3.85 ERA in 79 games. He originally signed a Minor League contract with Milwaukee on Jan. 20, 2004, just as he was coming back from surgery.

With Wise in the fold, Brady Clark and Tomo Ohka remain eligible for salary arbitration. Melvin is handling the Clark negotiations and said they have centered on a one-year contract. Ash has had similar discussions with representatives for Ohka, who is in his final year of arbitration-eligibility and will be a free agent after 2006.

Unless both sides can agree to terms, they will exchange salary figures next Tuesday.

"I expect it to go to that point with Ohka," Ash said.

Additionally, the Brewers extended a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training to left-handed pitcher Mitch Stetter. The 25-year-old split the 2005 season between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville and was named to the Southern League Mid-Season All-Star team.

After his promotion to Nashville, Stetter posted a 1-1 mark alongside a 4.26 ERA in 27 contests with Nashville. He participated in the Arizona Fall League but was pulled with soreness in his elbow.

Including this invitation, the Brewers will have 15 players participating in Major League camp.