Indians sign Matt Capps to minor league contract

The Indians have signed reliever Matt Capps to a minor league contract. reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

The contract includes an invite to Spring Training, but does not give Capps a spot on the roster. The Indians are bringing in Capps to give him a look, but he will be fighting for his job along with a large group of middle relief candidates that the Indians have.

Capps, 29, was let go by the Twins when they decided not to exercise his $6 million option, but instead to take his $250,000 buyout and allow the right-handed pitcher to hit free agency,

Capps was acquired in 2010 by the Twins for a package that included Wilson Ramos, who has since gone on to become one of the more promising young catchers in the game. Capps was an All Star that season, which may help to explain the Twins' logic at the time.

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In 2012 he threw 29.1 innings, posting an ERA of 3.68. He struck out 18 batters and walked only four, but he also allowed five home runs. For his career he has a 3.52 ERA and 138 saves.

If Capps is to become a closer again similar to how he was in Minnesota, he would have to have a lot of things break in his favor. It seems unlikely that he will regain this status, at least for the Indians as they have incumbent closer Chris Perez.

This comes as part of a flurry of minor league contracts the Indians have been handing out recently, having also given minor league contracts to Ben Francisco and Ryan Raburn.

Cleveland has been surprisingly active this offseason, but has been both a buyer and a seller.

One of their major moves was to sign Nick Swisher, but that came right on the heels of sending away a major piece of their team in Shin-Soo Choo. They also bolstered their line-up by bringing in Mark Reynolds on a 1-year contract, which should give them an added offensive boost.