The Rays have signed outfielder Shelley Duncan and right-handed pitchers Juan Carlos Oviedo, Jamey Wright and Juan Sandoval to minor-league deals with invitations to spring training, the team announced Tuesday.
Oviedo, who formerly played under the name Leo Nuñez, closed for the Marlins from 2009 to 2011, earning 92 saves while posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 186 strikeouts in 198 innings. He did not pitch in the majors in 2012, spending the first three-and-a-half months on the restricted list and undergoing Tommy John surgery in September. His deal includes a club option for 2014.
Wright, who turned 38 in December, spent the 2012 season, his 17th in the majors, with the Dodgers, going 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings, all in relief. Should he log playing time for the Rays this season, it will mark his 10th major-league club, having previously pitched for the Rockies, Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, Giants, Rangers, Indians and Mariners, as well as the Dodgers.
Sandoval, who turned 32 earlier in January, spent the last two seasons in the Mexican League after last playing in the minors for the Phillies in 2010. He went 7-3 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings while splitting time between Mexico and Oaxaca in 2012.
Duncan, a 33-year-old, six-year major-league veteran, played in 81 games for the Indians in 2012, hitting .203/.288/.388 with 11 home runs in 264 plate appearances. The 33-year-old has made 124 of his 163 career starts in left field.
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