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On the surface a minor league contract may not mean much. Obviously if the the contract is handed out to a guy with a proven Major League track record, there will be added interest. But the signings of true minor leaguers don't always garner a lot of attention. These signings are paramount to a club's success, though. The Baltimore Orioles reinforced their minor league system with three signings today.
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, Baltimore signed Rob Delaney, Manny Delcarmen, and Chris Pettit. Each of the three has Major League experience, but they are not full-time Major League guys. Each of them has been up and down in the numerous organizations they've played for. None of the contracts include an invite to Major League camp during spring training.
Rob Delaney is a 28-year old righty reliever. He has pitched in five games in the Majors for a total of six innings. In those innings, Delaney gave up seven runs. He last pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays in the Majors, but he spent all of last season in the Miami Marlins minor league system.
Related: Review of Orioles A-Ball system.
Manny Delcarmen is the most tenured Major Leaguer of the bunch. He has played for two different clubs over six Major League seasons - the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies. In total, Delcarmen has pitched 292 2/3 Major League innings with a 3.97 ERA. He has proven to be a decent reliever at times, but in his last few seasons, Delcarmen has struggled he posted a 4.99 ERA in 2010. Since then he has been pitching in the minors.
Chris Pettit is the only position player of the bunch. He is a 28-year old outfielder. His Major League experience includes 10 games in 2009 with the Los Angeles Angels and one game in 2011 with the Angels. In those game, Pettit hit .286/.286/.286. Last season, he played in the Rockies minor league system.
None of these three players are expected to make a significant impact on the Orioles roster in 2013, but they provide stability in case of emergency. The team knows they have options at the minor league level with Major League experience, and that's important.
