The Orioles signed 1B/DH Josh Phelps, 1B/3B Terry Tiffee, C J.R. House, OF Luis Montanez, 1B Brandon Sing, OF Ruddy Yan, SS Cesar Crespo, RP Jose Acevedo, RP Jon Leicester, RP Cory Doyne, RP Oscar Alvarez, RP Steve Green, RP Victor Moreno, SS Eider Lopez, and 3B Michael Cervenak to minor league contracts.

Grade: A

Its not that any of these players are going to make a major contribution to the Orioles next year, but the fact that we were quick to sign players that could have an impact for us. Instead of waiting and waiting and not getting anything that could help out even in emergency situations, we went out and signed some players with MLB experience (Phelps, Tiffee, House, Crespo, Acevedo), players past success in the minors (Sing), and players that were once promising prospects (Montanez, House). These are players that could step in for an injured player without losing as much of a step as an Eddy Rodriguez in left field would. House should compete for the back up catcher duty or a bench spot. Phelps could win a platoon or bench spot. Montanez and Tiffee could earn call ups at one point or another during the year. But mostly, its that these signings give our AA and AAA teams some depth and quality players. It shows a great step in the right direction.

This entry was posted on November 16, 2006 at 4:16 pm and is filed under FA Signings, Transactions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.