Sox sign five to minor league deals

The Red Sox today signed the following five players to minor league deals and invited them to spring training as non-roster players (background information courtesy of the Red Sox).

Enrique Gonzalez (righthanded pitcher): The 26-year-old spent 2008 in the San Diego organization. He was 7-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 35 games/13 starts at Triple-A Portland and posted a 1-0 record and 10.80 ERA in four appearances with the Padres. He is 4-7 with a 5.96 ERA in 27 games/18 starts with Arizona (2006-07) and San Diego (2008) in his major league career.

Marcus McBeth (righthanded pitcher): The 28-year-old split last season between the Cincinnati and Boston systems after being claimed off waivers by the Red Sox on August 13. He spent most of the year with the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville affiliate, going 1-1 with two saves and a 6.20 ERA in 24 relief appearances before logging a 1-0 mark and 2.57 ERA in four games with Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 3-2 with a 5.95 ERA in 23 relief outings with the Reds in 2007, his only major league experience.

Billy Traber (lefthanded pitcher): The 29-year-old joins the Red Sox after spending the majority of the 2008 campaign with New York’s Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre club where he went 2-1 with four saves and a 3.40 ERA in 40 games/two starts. He also made 19 appearances over four stints with the Yankees, going 0-0 with a 7.02 ERA. In his major league career, the lefthander is 12-14 with a 5.54 ERA in 95 games/28 starts with Cleveland (2003), Washington (2006-07) and New York (2008).

Gil Velazquez (infielder): The 29-year-old was re-signed by the Red Sox after batting .260 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 101 games for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2008. He also made his major league debut, going 1-for-8 with one RBI in three games with Boston. The righthanded hitter replaced Mike Lowell on the Division Series roster prior to Game 4 but did not appear in a post-season contest. Velazquez enters his twelfth professional season and second in the Red Sox organization.

Paul McAnulty (outfielder): The 27-year-old made San Diego’s Opening Day roster for the second straight season in 2008 and appeared in 66 games for the Padres, hitting .207 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He was outrighted to Triple-A Portland on July 8 where he posted a .343 average, 13 homers and 50 RBI over 53 games. The lefthanded batter has appeared at the major league level for the Padres in each of the last four seasons and has a career .208 average with five round trippers and 21 RBIs in 124 games.