The Chicago White Sox have signed relief pitcher Brian Bruney to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. He previously pitched with Chicago last season, but the White Sox designated him for assignment after a series of poor outings.
Bruney, 30 in February, ended up posting a 6.92 ERA over 19.2 innings with the White Sox last season. His peripheral statistics were somewhat stronger, but still pretty bad. There are some good reasons to like Bruney, though, given that his fastball sits in the mid-90's and he posted a 1.31 ERA over 20 innings with Triple-A Charlotte last season.
The former Yankee has a 4.70 ERA over 258 innings at the MLB level, but even small improvements in his command could end up leading to some serious improvement on the mound. Stark added that he'll make $600,000 next season if he ends up making the big league roster.
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