Rockies give Miguel Batista a minor league deal

The Colorado Rockies have signed journeyman pitcher Miguel Batista to a minor league contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The 41 year old righty will receive an invite to Spring training and a chance to play with his twelve major league club next season.

Batista was signed by the New York Mets last January and release in July after throwing 46 innings with a 4.82 ERA as a starter and reliever. He then signed with the Atlanta Braves in and saw six innings of work in the majors and 24 innings at AAA.

He has thrown 1956 innings, starting 248 games and finished 164 in a career spent bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. He has pitched for the Diamondback, Nationals, Mariners, Blue Jays, Royals, Pirates Cardinals, Cubs, Marlins, Mets and Braves thus far.

Given the state of the Rockies pitching, there is certainly a chance he will add their name to that list year at some point. The Rockies had the worst team ERA in baseball last season at 5.22 and just one pitcher, Jeff Francis, topped 100 innings. Rookie Drew Pomeranz was their best starter with a 4.93 ERA. The Rockies front office has done little to upgrade the rotation this off-season. If there is any organization where Batista might hope to contribute at the major league level in 2013, it is in Colorado.