DENVER—The NL champion Colorado Rockies filled a vacancy in their bullpen Friday by agreeing to a $7.5 million, two-year contract with right-hander Luis Vizcaino.
Vizcaino could fill the middle-inning void left by the departure of reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who reached a preliminary agreement with the New York Yankees in early December.
Vizcaino was 8-2 with a 4.30 ERA with the Yankees last season, making a career high 77 relief appearances and struggling for much of the first half. His eight wins tied him for the major league lead among relief pitchers.
“Luis provides valuable experience and durability to the back end of our bullpen,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said in a release.
The 33-year-old has a 33-25 record and 4.25 ERA in 485 relief appearances. He’s also pitched for Oakland, Milwaukee, Chicago White Sox and Arizona.
Vizcaino receives $3.5 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Rockies have a $4 million option for 2010 with a $500,000 buyout. The option would become guaranteed if Vizcaino appears in 135 games combined in 2008-09 or 68 games in 2009.
Colorado agreed to one-year deals Wednesday with pitchers Mark Redman and Kip Wells, and the Rockies also gave starter Aaron Cook a $30 million, three-year contract extension. In addition, they re-signed reliever Matt Herges.
Colorado also brought back catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a stabilizing influence behind the plate for the pitching staff last season.
