Rockies Sign Two Crappy Pitchers

The Colorado Rockies added two pitchers on Wednesday, agreeing to one-year deals with former first-round draft picks Kip Wells and Mark Redman.

Wells, a 30-year-old righty, had a lousy 7-17 record with a 5.70 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals last season, and is a career 64-91 in 231 career games with four different big league teams. He will be paid $3.1 million by the NL Champs, with a shot at making another $1.5 million in performance bonuses, which is highly unlikely.

The 33-year-old Redman, who was signed by Colorado in late August from Atlanta, went 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA in five games for the club last year. The lefty was a combined 2-4 with a 7.62 ERA in 11 games between the Braves and Rockies.

[ESPN]

Mark Redman Finds a Home In Texas

After being dropped by the Atlanta Braves last week with an 0-4 record and inflated 11.63 ERA, left-hander Mark Redman was signed by the Texas Rangers and is expected to start this week for the AAA Oklahoma RedHawks.

Redman, 33, went on the DL to undergo surgery to remove an ingrown toenail before making one last crappy relief appearance in which he gave up a grand slam to Boston's Mike Lowell.

The Rangers also recalled right-hander Mike Wood from AAA and sent down righty Scott Feldman.

Wood will make his fourth start for the Rangers on Tuesday in Oakland, replacing Robinson Tejeda in his third stint with Texas this season. He is 0-1 with a 7.02 ERA.

Feldman was sent to Oklahoma for the second time this month and is 1-2 with a 6.97 ERA in 17 relief appearances for the Rangers.

[Lone Star Ball]

I've Got A Fevah and the Only Cure is More Baseball

American League Batting Champ Joe Mauer returned to the Twins' lineup Saturday following a stress reaction in his left leg, just in time for Minnesota's final spring victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 6-4 win in front of a sellout crowd of 8,029 at Hammond Stadium.

The All-Star catcher hit a three-run double in the third that scored Jason Bartlett, Luis Castillo and Nick Punto, who returned from a strained right groin.

Mike Hampton Out, Mark Redman In

Lefty pitcher Mark Redman agreed to a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, and will start Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays in place of Mike Hampton, who just a day earlier learned he will be sidelined for up to two months with a strained left oblique.

The Braves are set with veteran John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Chuck James at the front of their rotation, so with the loss of Hampton, Redman joins Kyle Davies and Lance Cormier as the leading contenders for the final two spots.

If Redman earns a spot on the roster, he will get a $750,000, one-year contract and an opportunity to earn $500,000 in start-based performance bonuses. The 33-year-old All-Star went 11-10 with a 5.71 ERA for the Kansas City Royals last season and as an eight-year veteran, is 64-76 with a 4.65 ERA in 186 starts and 12 relief appearances.

While Redman started out in 1995 with the Minnesota Twins organization and has spent most of his career in the American League, he does have some hitting experience. He was 14-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 2003 with the World Series Champion Florida Marlins and 5-15 with a 4.90 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005.

[Toronto Star]