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12/13/2005 11:05 AM ET
Nationals sign four catchers to minor league contracts
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The Washington Nationals today signed catchers Wiki Gonzalez, Mike DiFelice, Alberto Castillo and Brandon Harper to 2006 minor-league contracts. Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.
Gonzalez, 31, is a career .240 hitter with 17 home runs and 101 RBI in 283 contests with San Diego and Seattle. Considered an excellent "catch and throw" backstop, Gonzalez has gunned down 63 of 172 (37%) would-be basestealers during his six-year big league career. Gonzalez spent the majority of the 2005 season with Tacoma (.313, five homers, 28 RBI) of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, but hit .267 in 14 big league contests during a pair of stints with Seattle.
DiFelice, 36, has batted .238 with 28 home runs and 157 RBI in 512 big league contests spanning 10 seasons with St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Kansas City, Detroit, Chicago (NL) and New York (NL). In 2005, DiFelice posted 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 81 games with Norfolk of the Triple-A International League to earn a pair of big league promotions from the Mets.
Castillo, 35, is a career .222 hitter with 11 home runs and 98 RBI in 407 games spanning 11 big league seasons with New York (NL), St. Louis, Toronto, New York (AL), San Francisco, Kansas City and Oakland. Last season, Castillo batted .208 with 14 RBI in 35 games for Kansas City and Oakland sandwiched around a stint with Sacramento of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Harper, 29, was Florida's fourth-round selection in the 1997 First-Year Player Draft. Last season, he hit .246 with six home runs and 34 RBI in 81 games for Toledo of the Triple-A International League.
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