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The Minnesota Twins agreed Thursday to a $750,000, one-year contract with Henry Blanco, trying to gain depth at catcher.
The Twins hope Blanco, who was the backup to Javy Lopez in Atlanta, can provide help behind the plate following the departure of All-Star A.J. Pierzynski, who was traded to San Francisco last month.
Blanco, 32, batted
.199 with 13 RBIs and one homer in 55 games for the Braves last season. He became
a free agent last month when he refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Richmond.
``Any offense that you get out of that type of player, that's great, but we're
more interested in a catching type of guy who can help run a pitching staff,''
Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. ``There are good reports on him. He's
a good person to have on a club. A good teammate who can help mentor a younger
guy.''
Blanco is batting .297 with 37 RBIs and nine homers in 44 games for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Blanco originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in 1989 and has spent nearly five seasons in the major leagues with Los Angeles, Colorado, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Also on Thursday, the Twins invited catcher Joe Mauer, the team's top draft pick in 2001, to spring training as one of 12 non-roster players. Mauer, a former Cretin-Derham Hall High School standout who's steadily improved in Minnesota's minor league organization, will take over for Pierzynski.
Other non-roster players who were invited to spring training were catchers Chris Heintz, Brandon Marsters and Gabby Torres; infielders Jake Mauer, Alex Prieto and Luis Rodriguez; and pitchers Jess Crain, Seth Greisinger, Peter Munro, Jeromy Palki and Joe Roa. Jake Mauer is Joe Mauer's older brother.
Saturday afternoon is the deadline for all major-league clubs to offer 2004 contracts to unsigned players, a point in the offseason that usually means a flurry of transactions.
The Twins are still in the market for a starting pitcher and a reliever, preferably a proven closer.
``We'll see what comes out of it this weekend,'' Ryan said.