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Baseball briefs: Gomez signs with Orioles
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Chris Gomez, a utility infielder who spent all of last season with the Pirates, yesterday signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
Gomez, 37, batted .273 in 90 games last season while making $1 million on a major league contract. The Pirates had expressed interest in bringing Gomez back, but only on minor league terms. Gomez told the Baltimore Sun yesterday that he chose the Orioles because he played for them in 2005-07, and the team's familiarity would present the best chance to make the roster.
Two of the Pirates' players who declared free agency after the season, Gomez and outfielder Jason Michaels have signed elsewhere, Michaels with the Houston Astros. The other two, utilityman Doug Mientkiewicz and infielder Luis Rivas, remain unsigned.
Utilityman Willie Bloomquist agreed to a $3.1 million, two-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City also agreed to a $1.3 million, one-year contract with right-hander Kyle Davies, who had been eligible for salary arbitration.
• The New York Mets reached a preliminary agreement with pitcher Tim Redding on a $2.25 million, one-year contract.
• Pitcher Shawn Estes has agreed to terms of a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that could be worth as much as $1.55 million.
• Pitcher Brad Penny finalized a $5 million, one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.
• Dave Roberts, a left-handed pitcher who played for the 1979 World Series champion Pirates during a 13-year career in the majors, died of lung cancer. He was 64.
First Published January 10, 2009 2:03 am
