Orioles Sign Seven Players To Minor League Contracts

Published on December 20, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Ottawa Lynx News Release


OTTAWA - The Ottawa Lynx 2006 roster continues to take shape, as the Baltimore Orioles announced today that they have signed seven players to Minor League contracts. Of the seven players announced today, six have spent time in the Major Leagues during their careers. Four of the players, 3B NAPOLEON CALZADO, 1B ALEJANDRO FREIRE (fray-day), SS EDDY GARABITO and RHP JOHN STEPHENS have played for the Lynx previously, while RHP WINSTON ABREU, INF/OF HOWIE CLARK and RHP ORBER MORENO are new faces to Ottawa.

Calzado, 28, is coming off a terrific year with the Lynx where he batted .306 (Tied - 8th best in the IL) with a career high 11 home runs. He also made his first appearance in the Major Leagues with Baltimore, batting .200 in four games. Freire (Fray-day) returns to the Lynx after acting as the club's cleanup hitter for the majority of the 2005 season. The Venezuelan slugger batted .299 with a team-leading 19 homers and 69 RBI in only 106 in Ottawa before being promoted to Baltimore where he hit .246-1-4 in 25 games.

The switch-hitting Garabito returns to the Lynx after playing last season in the Colorado organization, where he hit .306 at Triple-A Colorado Springs and .307 in 42 games with the Colorado Rockies. Garabito played with the Lynx in 2003 and 2004. Stephens, an Australian native, also begins his third tour of duty with Ottawa. The right-hander joined the Lynx late last season and went 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 12 games. Stephens owns a 66-48 record with a 3.31 ERA in nine Minor League seasons, and pitched in the Major Leagues with Baltimore in 2002.

Clark, 31, will bring versatility and a strong bat to Dave Trembley's Lynx lineup. 2006 will be his 15th season in professional baseball, over which time he has a career .291 Minor League batting average. Clark has appeared in the Major Leagues with both Baltimore (2002) and Toronto (2003 & 2004), and has played every position on the field at least once during his Minor League career.

Moreno, 28, looks to rebound after missing all of the 2005 season due to injury. In 2004, the hard-throwing right-hander went 3-1 with a 3.37 ERA in 33 games with the New York Mets. Abreu comes to the Lynx after spending last season with Triple-A Tucson (Arizona Diamondbacks organization) and Oaxaca of the Mexican League. He has posted a career 38-36 Minor League record, striking out 801 batters in 679.0 innings of work.

The Lynx would also like to take this opportunity to wish all media and fans best wishes over the holiday season and a safe and happy New Year!

Opening day 2006 is only 108 days away!

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International League Stories from December 20, 2005


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