The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent lefthanded relief pitcher Royce Ring on a one-year contract for the 2009 season. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 6-0, 220-pound Ring joins a Cardinals bullpen staff that includes left-handed relievers Charlie Manning and Trevor Miller, who were also acquired this off-season.
Ring, 28, spent most of 2008 with the Atlanta Braves where he went 2-1 in 42 games. He began the season on the Braves Opening Day roster in ’08, the first time in his career to open the season on a Major League roster. Through June he was 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and he allowed just one run, none earned, in the month of June, spanning 11 games and 6.1 IP.
The California native was originally drafted by San Diego in 1999 but signed with the Chicago White Sox in 2002. The Cardinals are his fifth professional organization as he made his Major League debut with the New York Mets in 2005 and pitched for San Diego in 2007.