Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Phillies signed veteran pitchers Juan Cruz and Aaron Cook to minor league contracts on Wednesday, with both players also receiving invitations to spring training.
Cruz is coming off a solid 2012 campaign with Pittsburgh in which the well- traveled righty went 1-1 with a 2.78 earned run average and three saves over 43 relief appearances. The 34-year-old has also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, Oakland, Arizona, Kansas City and Tampa Bay during a 12-year big league tenure and owns a 38-36 record with a 4.05 ERA over 447 lifetime games -- all but 38 of which have come in relief.
Cook was a 16-game winner with Colorado back in 2008 who has struggled in recent seasons, having gone just 7-21 with a 5.84 ERA over the previous two years. The right-hander, who turns 34 in February, went 4-11 with a 5.65 ERA over 18 starts with Boston in 2012.
Over 11 major league seasons with the Rockies and Red Sox, Cook has compiled a 76-79 mark with a 4.60 ERA.
The Phillies also signed experienced hurler Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. The Mexico native spent part of the 2009 season with Philadelphia, going 3-1 with a 5.70 ERA in seven outings (five starts).
Lopez pitched most of last season with the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Iowa. The 37-year-old has registered an 81-89 career mark with a 4.82 ERA over an 11-year major league career and has had stops with San Diego, Baltimore, Colorado and Arizona in addition to the Phillies and Cubs.
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