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Henry Blanco, who served as the primary catcher for Greg Maddux in Atlanta last season, on Thursday agreed to a one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal, which includes a club option for 2005.
The Twins have been in the market for a veteran catcher after All-Star A.J. Pierzynski was traded to the San Francisco Giants last month.
The 32-year-old
Blanco batted .199 with eight doubles, one homer and 13 RBI in 55 games last
season as the backup to Javy Lopez. Blanco also has played for Los Angeles,
Colorado, Milwaukee and is a career .219 hitter.
Still in need of a closer, the Oakland Athletics added a veteran to their bullpen Thursday by acquiring lefthander Chris Hammond from the New York Yankees for two minor leaguers.
The Yankees will receive righthander Edwardo Sierra and infielder J.T. Stotts.
Hammond is entering the second year of a two-year, $4.8 million contract he signed with the Yankees last winter to replace Mike Stanton as the lefthanded set-up man. The deal also has a $3 million team option for 2005.
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Oakland is searching for a closer after free agent Keith Foulke signed with
the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Earlier this week, the Athletics re-signed middle
reliever Ricardo Rincon.
The 37-year-old Hammond was 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 62 appearances for the Yankees last season. Manager Joe Torre appeared to lose faith in him as the season progressed and he appeared in just 22 games after the All-Star break.
Hammond also has pitched for Cincinnati, Florida, Boston and Atlanta and owns a lifetime record of 56-59 with two saves and a 4.16 ERA in 316 appearances. His best season was in 2002, when he had a 0.95 ERA in 63 appearances for the Braves.
Sierra, 21, was 3-5 with 17 saves and a 2.09 ERA in 51 appearances last season for Kane County of the Class A Midwest League.
Stotts, 23, finished last season as Class AA Midland, where he batted .307 in 46 games.