Indians Officially Sign Durbin

The Cleveland Indians today announced the signing of free agent right-handed reliever Chad Durbin to a one-year Major League contract for the 2011 season. He will make $800,000 this year and has incentives in his deal which could add up to $1 million more to his base deal.

Durbin spent the last three years pitching in relief with the Philadelphia Phillies and compiled a mark of 11-7 with a 3.62 ERA in 194 games (226.0 IP, 200 H, 91 ER, 109 BB, 188 K). Over that three-year span he limited batters to a .241 (200-829) average against. He also made 15 appearances in the post-season over those three seasons and was 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA.

Last year, Durbin, 33, went 4-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 64 relief appearances for the National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies (68.2 IP, 63 H, 29 R/ER, 27 BB, 63 K) and limited Major League hitters to a .246 (63-256) average against. His 8.3 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched established a new career-high while his 64 relief appearances were the 2nd highest total of his career. Batters hit just .200 (26-130) off of him with runners on base and right-handed hitters hit .195 (30-154).

Durbin owns a career Major League record of 36-44 with a 5.05 ERA in 308 games (691.0 IP, 735 H, 388 ER, 453 K) and pitched for the Cleveland Indians over 20 games (9 starts) during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. His career relief ERA is 3.99 in 233 games (291.1 IP, 271 H, 129 ER, 239 K, .249 AVG, 7.4K/9). The Baton Rouge, LA native was originally a 3rd round selection of the Kansas City Royals in 1996 and debuted with the Royals in 1999 at the age of 21.

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