Phils invite 8 inlcuding Podsednik, Elarton to Spring Training

The Phillies have signed eight players to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training as non-roster players, the club announced today.

• Scott Elarton, RHP – Elarton last pitched professionally in 2010, appearing in 16 games for triple-A Charlotte.  A nine-year major league veteran, Elarton was a 17-game winner for the Houston Astros in 2000, with his last big league appearance coming in 2008 with the Cleveland Indians.  In 232 career major league games (170 starts), he is 56-61 with a 5.29 ERA for the Astros (1998-2001), Colorado Rockies (2001, 2003-04), Indians (2004-05, 2008) and Kansas City Royals (2006-07).

• Kevin Frandsen, INF – In 81 games in the Phillies minor league system in 2011, Frandsen batted .309 with five home runs and 43 RBI, appearing at first base, second base, third base and shortstop.  He hit .397 (27-68) in his final 17 games of the season.  In 228 career major league games, Frandsen has a .243 batting average with seven home runs and 53 RBI for the San Francisco Giants (2006-09) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2010).

• Tuffy Gosewisch, C – Gosewisch will attend his fourth consecutive major league camp with the Phillies.  The 28-year-old hit .247 with 13 home runs and 66 RBI in 109 games for double-A Reading, setting professional highs in games, home runs, RBI, hits (91) and stolen bases (4).  For the season, Gosewisch was named the best defensive catcher in the Eastern League by Baseball America.

• Pat Misch, LHP – Misch, 30, made six appearances, all in relief, for the New York Mets in 2011, but spent most of his season with triple-A Buffalo, where he went 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA in 22 starts.  He pitched at least 7.0 innings in 10 of those starts.  In 78 career major league games (24 starts) for the San Francisco Giants (2006-09) and Mets (2009-11), Misch is 4-15 with a 4.80 ERA.

• Pete Orr, INF – Orr, 31, shuttled between the Phillies and triple-A Lehigh Valley throughout the season.  Between both teams, he made starts at second base, shortstop, third base and right field.  Orr hit .219 in 46 games for the Phillies and .267 with five home runs and 26 RBI in 75 games for the IronPigs.

• Scott Podsednik, OF – Podsednik spent the entire 2011 season in the minor leagues between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia and was limited to 34 games due to a stress fracture in his left foot.  For the Phillies, the 35-year-old played in 14 games for triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he batted .245 with six doubles and a triple.  A member of the 2005 World Champion White Sox, Podsednik is a career .279 hitter in the major leagues with 41 home runs, 300 RBI and 301 stolen bases.

• Brian Sanches, RHP – In 39 games for the Florida Marlins in 2011, Sanches went 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA.  The 33-year-old pitched at least 2.0 innings in 16 appearances last season, including two spot starts, and had a stint on the disabled list in the second half with a strained right elbow.  In 36 of his 39 appearances, Sanches posted a 2.48 ERA (15 ER, 54.1 IP).  In 189 career major league games, he is 13-6 with a 3.58 ERA for the Phillies (2006-07), Washington Nationals (2008) and Marlins (2009-11).

• Raul Valdes, LHP – Valdes appeared in 13 major league games in 2011 and went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees.  A native of Cuba, he appeared in a combined 30 minor league games (seven starts) for triple-A Memphis and triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and posted a 7-2 record with a 4.50 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 62.0 innings (9.3 SO/9.0 IP).  Valdes, 34, has a 2.18 ERA in his last 17 major league games with a .237 opponents’ batting average and 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings (9.6 SO/9.0 IP).