Boston Red Sox Agree to Terms with First Baseman Sean Casey on 2008 Contract

02/05/2008, BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox today agreed to terms with first baseman Sean Casey on a one-year contract for the 2008 season. No further terms were disclosed.

The announcement was made by Red Sox Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

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Sean Casey, 33, joins the Boston Red Sox after batting .296 with four homers and 54 RBI in 143 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2007. He started 105 games at first base and six as the designated hitter and batted .500 (6-12) as a pinch-hitter. The lefthanded hitter, who tied for eighth in the American League with 11 intentional walks, batted .419 in his final 22 games of the season.

Casey has a career .301 average with 130 homers and 718 RBI in 1336 games with Cleveland (1997), Cincinnati (1998-2005), Pittsburgh (2006), and Detroit (2006-07). The three-time All-Star has batted .300 or better in five different seasons, including three in a row with the Reds from 1999-2001. His .301 career average ranks 15th among active players with at least 4,500 at bats. In his first full big league season in 1999, he finished fourth in the National League with a .332 average and 197 hits.

Casey was outstanding with the Tigers in the 2006 post-season, batting .432 in ten playoff games. That included a .529 average in Detroit's five-game World Series loss to St. Louis, the second highest figure ever in a WS of more than four games (10 or more plate appearances).

In 2007, Casey ranked third among American League first basemen with a .998 fielding percentage. His .9955 career mark at first base is sixth highest all-time among players with at least 1,000 games played.

Casey has been added to Boston's major league roster, putting that at the limit of 40 players.

RED SOX ADD MINOR LEAGUE FREE AGENTS: The Red Sox have signed RHP Matt Miller and INF Junior Spivey to minor league contracts. Both will report to the minor league camp. Miller, 36, was 0-1, 2.89 in 38 games with Triple-A Buffalo and worked 1.0 scoreless inning in two appearances with Cleveland in 2007. He is 6-1, 2.72 with two saves in 100 career major league games with Colorado (2003) and Cleveland (2004-07). Spivey batted .241 with 2 homers and 14 RBI in 25 games with Triple-A Pawtucket last season after singing with the Boston organization on August 4. He is a career .270 batter with 48 homers and 201 RBI in 457 games with Arizona (2001-03), Milwaukee (2004-05), and Washington (2006).

Source: MLB