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Rockies Agree To Terms On Minor League Contract With Jason Giambi

August 24, 2009 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


DENVER -The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Jason Giambi. Giambi will report to Triple-A Colorado Springs. He will join veteran right-handed pitcher Russ Ortiz, who reported to the Sky Sox on Sunday after agreeing to terms with the Rockies on a minor league deal.

Giambi, 38, hit .193 (52-for-269) with 11 home runs and 40 RBI in 83 games for the Oakland Athletics this season. He played 58 games at first base before being released by the club on August 7. Prior to being released Giambi was on the 15-day day disabled list (July 20-August 7) with a strained right quadriceps. He signed as a free agent with the A's on January 8, 2009.

Giambi ranks among the active Major League leaders in several offensive categories: Home runs (8th-407), RBI (9th-1319), extra-base hits (12th-791), walks (6th-1255) and on-base pct. (6th-.405). He has played all 1933 games of his career for American League teams but owns a .274 (174-for-636) batting average with 44 home runs and 137 RBI in 193 games against National League clubs in his career.

The 15-year Major League veteran was originally drafted by the A's in the second round of the 1992 June Draft and made his Major League debut with Oakland in 1995. He was named American League MVP in 2000 after batting .333 with career highs in home runs (43), RBI (137) and walks (137), and then finished second in MVP balloting in 2001 when he set an Oakland record with a career high .342 batting average, while adding 38 home runs and 120 RBI. He spent seven seasons with New York, where he was a .260 hitter with 209 home runs and 604 RBI in 897 games. Giambi left New York ranked 10th on the Yankees all-time home run list.

Ortiz, 34, went 3-6 with a 5.57 ERA (85.2 ip, 53 er) in 23 games (13 starts) for the Houston Astros in 2009. He earned his last win on June 2 vs. Colorado, as he picked up the win in relief during a 3-2 Rockies loss in 11 innings. Ortiz posted a record of 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA (21.2 ip, 6 er) in 10 relief outings with the Astros, pitching one or more innings in nine of those 10 games. He was released by Houston on July 30 and signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees on August 6. The right-hander made three starts at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA (17.0 ip, 3 er), before being released by the club on August 17.

Ortiz is 113-82 with a 4.48 ERA (1654.1 ip, 824 er) and 1186 strikeouts in 305 career games, including 266 starts, with San Francisco (1998-2002, 2007), Atlanta (2003-04), Arizona (2005-06), Baltimore (2006) and Houston (2008). A 2003 All-Star with Atlanta, Ortiz led the National League with 21 wins in 2003. He missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right arm.



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 24, 2009


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