Indians re-sign Daisuke Matsuzaka, Matt Capps

The Cleveland Indians have re-signed right-handers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Capps to minor league contracts, the team has announced.

Cleveland recently released Dice-K and Capps. They were not willing to commit a roster spot to either veteran, and if Capps or Matsuzaka would have accepted an assignment to Triple-A they would have earned $100k in retention bonuses.

Perez ready?

The Indians closer expects to be in the bullpen Opening Day.

In order to avoid these payouts, the Indians cut the duo and then re-signed them to minor league deals. Both players will likely report to Triple-A and provide the team with minor league depth.

Matsuzaka spent the 2012 season with the Boston Red Sox. He got lit up to the tune of an 8.28 ERA over 11 starts. The former 18-game winner owns a career ERA of 4.52 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.90 over six seasons in the majors.

Capps has spent the past three seasons as the Minnesota Twins' closer. He was limited by injuries to 30 appearances last year, over which he maintained an ERA of 3.68. Over eight seasons in the majors, the 29-year-old owns a career ERA of 3.52.

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