Padres sign Rodriguez, four others
Luis Rodriguez
Luis Rodriguez

Posted Dec 24, 2008


San Diego, CA – The San Diego Padres announced today that they have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with infielder Luis Rodriguez. In addition the team has agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Kevin Correia, Chris Britton and Oneli Perez, and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo on minor league contracts and extended them invitations to Major League Spring Training.

Rodriguez, 28, hit .287 (58-for-202) with 11 doubles, one triple, 12 RBI and 22 runs scored in 64 games in his first season with the Padres.  The switch-hitting infielder started 45 games at shortstop, four at second base and one at first base.  Rodriguez began the season with Triple-A Portland before being promoted to San Diego on July 3.  He hit .302 (29-for-96) with five doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBI and 10 runs scored in 31 games for the Beavers.  Originally signed by the Minnesota Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 1997, Rodriguez has hit .257 (166-for-647) with 30 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 50 RBI and 72 runs scored in 270 games over parts of four Major League seasons with Minnesota (2005-07) and San Diego (2008).

Correia, 28, was 3-8 with a 6.05 ERA (74 ER/110.0 IP), 66 strikeouts and 47 walks in 25 games (19 starts) with the San Francisco Giants in 2008.  A veteran of six Major League seasons with the Giants, he owns a career record of 14-22 with a 4.59 ERA (203 ER/398.0 IP) in 170 appearances (46 starts).  Correia was originally selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.

Britton, 26, was 0-0 with a 5.09 ERA (13 ER/23.0 IP) with 12 strikeouts and 11 walks in 15 relief appearances for the New York Yankees in 2008.  In addition Britton made 21 appearances for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre going 3-1 with a 2.28 ERA (7 ER/27.2 IP).  Originally selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the eighth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Britton is 0-3 with one save and a 3.83 ERA (38 ER/89.1 IP) in 78 relief appearances over parts of three Major League seasons with the Orioles (2006) and the Yankees (2007-08).

Perez, 25, played for three organizations in 2008.  He went 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA (18 ER/17.0 IP) in 14 relief appearances with Triple-A Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox organization before being acquired off waivers by the Indians on May 19.  He went 0-0 with two saves and a 7.11 ERA (10 ER/12.2 IP) in seven relief appearances for Triple-A Buffalo before being acquired off waivers by the New York Yankees on June 18.  Perez appeared in 17 games (1 start) with the Yankees Double-A Trenton affiliate going 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA (12 ER/31.0 IP).   Originally selected by the Padres as a non-drafted free agent in 2001, he is 26-14 with 37 saves and a 2.72 ERA (121 ER/401.0 IP) in 185 games (3 starts) over parts of eight minor league seasons with the Padres (2001-03), White Sox (2004-08), Indians (2008) and Yankees (2008) organizations.

Alfonzo, 29, hit .291 (1-for-11) with one RBI in five games with the Giants in 2008.  In addition, he made stops at Triple-A Fresno, Double-A Connecticut and Single-A Augusta.  Originally signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent in 1996, Alfonzo has hit .258 (93-for-361) with 19 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 46 RBI and 32 runs scored in 118 games over parts of three Major League seasons with the Giants.



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