Atlanta Agrees to Terms with Infielder/outfielder Omar Infante

The Atlanta Braves have agreed to terms with right-handed hitter Omar Infante on a two-year contract for the 2009 and 2010 seasons that also includes a club option for the 2011 season. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. He was due to become a free agent after the 2009 season.

Infante, 27, joined the Braves in a December 2007 trade with the Chicago Cubs. He hit .293 with 24 doubles, three home runs and 40 runs batted in during the 2008 season and led all Atlanta regulars with a .341 batting average with runners in scoring position. He hit .300 over his final 54 games after July 23. Infante appeared in 96 games, the most since appearing in 121 in 2005.

The versatile Infante started 77 games at five different positions last season including third base (26), left field (26), shortstop (15), second base (9) and center field (1). He also hit in seven different spots in the batting order.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Infante has appeared in 590 career major league games in parts of seven Major League seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Braves. He was traded from the Tigers to the Cubs after the 2007 season, but was traded to Atlanta before playing for the Cubs. He owns a .260 career batting average with 35 home runs and 194 RBIs. He has played 245 career games at second base, 196 at shortstop, 64 in the outfield and 62 at third base.

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Braves Agree to Terms with Catcher David Ross on Two-Year Contract

Atlanta Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren announced on December 5th, that the Braves have agreed to terms with free-agent catcher David Ross on a two-year contract for the upcoming 2009 and 2010 seasons. Financial terms of the deal were not announced.

Ross, 31, has appeared in 431 career games with five different clubs since 2002. He owns a .222 career batting average, with 60 home runs and 154 RBIs. Ross split the 2008 campaign between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox, playing a total of 60 games.

Ross has clubbed 41 home runs over the last three seasons (2006-08), which ranks as the 11th-highest total among all Major League catchers in that span. His average of 17 at-bats per home run ranks as the second-best average among catchers over the last three years. Ross hit a career-high 21 home runs in 90 games with the Reds in 2006, followed by 17 homers in 112 games for the Reds in 2007.

For his career Ross has nailed 77 of 218 (35%) would-be base stealers - the fifth-highest caught stealing percentage in the majors since 2002 (minimum 375 games at catcher). He threw out 10 of 36 (28%) attempted base stealers in 2008.

Born in Bainbridge, Ga., Ross graduated from Florida High School in Tallahassee, Fla., where he still resides. He was a teammate of Braves pitcher Tim Hudson at Auburn University for two years (1996-97) before transferring in 1998 to the University of Florida, where he helped the Gators advance to the College World Series. Ross was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh round of the 1998 Draft.

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