PITTSBURGH -- Right-handed reliever Rick White agreed Thursday to a
minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team he broke into the
majors with 11 years ago.
White, 36, is the 27th non-roster player invited to the Pirates' major
league spring training camp. His major league salary would be $475,000 if he is
added to the roster, and he could earn bonuses of $50,000 each for 50 and 60
games and $100,000 for 70 games.
White has been with seven major league clubs since going a combined 6-8 in
58 games with Pittsburgh during the 1994 and 1995 seasons. He spent last season
with the Indians, going 5-5 with a 5.29 ERA in 59 games after being acquired
from the Dodgers for minor leaguer Trey Dyson in April. He became a free agent
in December after the Indians declined to offer him salary arbitration.
White hasn't had a full-season ERA below 4.31 since he was 4-5 with a 3.88
ERA in 2001 with the Mets.
Since leaving the Pirates, White was out of the majors for two seasons
following elbow surgery before pitching for the Devil Rays, Mets, Rockies,
Cardinals, White Sox and Indians, almost exclusively as a reliever. He hasn't
started a game since 1999 and has made only 18 starts in 449 games, with a
career record of 33-45 and a 4.30 ERA.