Indians Sign Saul Rivera

The Indians have announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Saul Rivera to a free agent minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to Major League spring training camp.

Rivera, 32, owns a career Major League record of 13-15 with a 4.05 ERA in 245 relief appearances (275.2 IP, 285 H, 124 ER, 123 BB, 191 K) with the Washington Nationals over the last four seasons since 2006. He leaves as the Washington Nationals all-time franchise leader in relief appearances (245) and appeared in 50+ games in each season from 2006-09, including a career-high 85 in 2007 (2nd among MLB relievers). As recently as 2008, he went 5-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 76 games (84.0 IP, 90 H, 37 ER, 65 K) and finished 4th in the National League in relief innings pitched.

The native of Puerto Rico split the 2009 season between Washington (1-3, 6.10 ERA, 30 games) and AAA Syracuse (2-5, 3.55 ERA, 30 games). He was 0-0 with a 2.51 ERA in eight August games (14.1 IP, 13 H, 4 ER, 10 K) upon his return to the Nationals after a three month stay in Triple-A. Saul owns a career minor league record of 31-25 with a 2.85 ERA in 342 games (489.1 IP, 419 H, 155 ER, 532 K).

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