What’s up: Embree’s specialty is facing left-handed batters in the late innings. That skill has kept him in the big leagues for 15 seasons, landing him in two World Series, in 1995 for the runner-up Indians and in 2004 for the champion Red Sox. The Rockies are Embree’s 10th major-league team. Embree, 39, went 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA in 70 games for the Oakland A’s last season. He has pitched at least 60 games in 10 consecutive seasons.
What’s next: The Rockies long coveted Embree and signed him to a one-year, $2.25 million deal with a mutual option for 2010. Embree is the kind of pitcher who “competes with a slow heartbeat,” as manager Clint Hurdle likes to say. Last season, Rockies relievers permitted 34.2 percent of inherited runners to score. Embree, meanwhile, allowed just 20 percent of inherited runners to score (9 of 45), so he is viewed as a significant upgrade.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
