The Indians announced today that they have infielder Brian Buscher, left-hander Mike Gosling, right-hander Jason Grilli, and infielder Luis Rodriguez to minor league contracts with non-roster invitations to major league camp this spring. All four players spent extensive time at the big league level in 2009.
Buscher, 28, split the 2009 season between AAA Rochester and the Minnesota Twins. With the Twins he hit .235 (32-136) with 3 2B, 1 3B, 2HR and 12 RBI in 61 games. He also hit .306 (11-36) in 15 second half games for the AL Central champs. He owns a major league career average of .266 (116-436) with 13 2B, 8 HR and 69 RBI in 164 games with the Twins since debuting in 2007. He appeared in 25 games at third base and 13 games at first base for the Twins in 2009. He was originally selected in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft by the San Francisco Giants out of the University of South Carolina and was a Rule V pick of the Twins before the 2007 campaign.
Gosling, 29, made 15 appearances out of the bullpen for the Cleveland Indians in 2009, going 0-0 with a 5.04 ERA (25.0 IP, 30 H, 14 ER, 11 BB, 13 K). He had an ERA of 3.46 (13.0 IP, 13 H, 5 ER) in 8 games over the final month of the season. He started the year in the Twins organization at AAA Rochester (7-1, 4.37 ERA, 21 games) and also pitched at AAA Columbus after joining the Indians organization in June. He owns a major league career record of 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 58 games (9 GS, 117.0 IP, 139 H, 63 ER, 74 K). He was Arizona's 2nd round pick in 2001 out of Stanford and has logged time in the big leagues with the D-Backs and Reds since 2004.
Grilli, 33, split the season pitching in relief between the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers' bullpen where he was a combined 2-3 with a save and a 5.32 ERA in 52 games (45.2 IP, 50 H, 27 ER, 27 BB, 49 K). After being acquired from Texas on June 9, he allowed just 3 earned runs over his first 17 outings (17.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, .150 AVG) before going on the disabled list in early August with right elbow inflammation. Overall with Texas his ERA was 4.78 (26.1 IP, 21 H, 14 ER) in 30 games with a .216 (21-97) average against. He owns a career major league record of 18-18 with 2 saves and a 4.74 ERA in 238 games (16 GS, 356.2 IP, 366 H, 188 ER, 262 K) with five teams since 2000. He was San Francisco's first round pick (4th overall) in the 1997 draft.
Rodriguez, 29, spent the entire season with the San Diego Padres where he hit .202 (42-208) with 6 2B, 2 HR and 16 RBI. He walked 37 times against just 23 strikeouts for an on-base % of .319. He was San Diego's opening day shortstop and prior to a left ankle injury in May he owned an on-base % of .396. Overall the native of San Carlos, Venezuela made 30 starts at shortstop and 25 starts at second base for the Padres. He owns a Major League career average of .243 (208-855) in 363 games with a career on-base % of .316.
courtesy of the Indians
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Indians Sign Four Players To Minor League Contracts
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3 comments:
Tony, Are these 4 guys eligible for the Rule 5 draft? I like Grilli and I think he might be able to help the Tribe's bullpen. I always liked Buscher with Minnesota also. Any chance the two infielders could compete for the utility infielder job?
Chad, they're eligible, but no way any of them get picked. They're all filler guys, not guys teams would expect to keep on their 25-man roster all season. I wouldn't expect much more than a potential injury fill-in from any of them.
Chad, yeah, they are Rule 5 eligible. Obviously there is no chance a team would pick any of these guys up Rule 5 as they would have to pay them their negotiated major league salary and keep them on the 25-man all year whereas they could have just signed them as a MLFA and not had any of those roster and pay restrictions.
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