The Philadelphia Phillies have signed eight players to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training (via Philly.com). Some of the players such as Scott Podsednik, Pat Misch and Pete Orr were already announced. Here are the other players the Phillies have just signed: Scott Elarton, Kevin Frandsen, Tuffy Gosewisch, Brian Sanches and Raul Valdes.
Elarton, a 36-year-old veteran pitcher, has not pitched in the major leagues since 2008 when he was with Cleveland. His career MLB record stands at 56-61 with a 5.29 ERA. His most recent stint in baseball was with Triple-A Charlotte in 2010. He had a record of 1-2 in 16 appearances and an ERA of 8.24.
Frandsen is an infielder who was last in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2010. Frandsen led the Phillies Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley in batting average in 2011 (.303).
Gosewisch is a catcher with the Phillies Double-A affiliate Reading. He's making his fourth straight trip to Phillies training camp. He hit .247 with 13 home runs and 66 RBI in 109 games in 2011.
Sanches, a right-handed pitcher, pitched for the Marlins in 2011, going 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA. He is 13-6 for his MLB career with a 3.58 ERA with the Phillies (2006-07), Nationals (2008) and Marlins (2011).
Valdes, a left-handed pitcher, was 0-1 with an ERA of 3.00 in 13 appearances with the Cardinals and Yankees in 2011. Valdes is 3-4 in his MLB career with a 4.58 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.
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