Raburn signs Minors contract with Reds

February 17th, 2017

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds moved to add more bench depth when they agreed to terms with veteran outfielder/infielder on a Minor League contract on Friday.
Raburn, who officially joined big league camp as a non-roster player on Sunday once he passed his physical, will earn a $900,000 base salary if he makes the team.
A veteran of 11 big league seasons, Raburn is a career .253/.317/.436 hitter with 91 home runs and 352 RBIs in 922 games. He previously played with the Tigers, Indians and Rockies.
Last season with Colorado, the right-handed hitter batted .220/.309/.404 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 113 games. He will turn 36 years old on April 17. Defensively, he has played all three outfield positions and every infield position except catcher and shortstop. He's also made two appearances as a pitcher for Cleveland, in 2013 and '15, and has 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
More camp notes from Friday
• Although Reds manager Bryan Price has a general sense of who his everyday eight players will be, he's far from settled on a lineup.
"There are too many questions," Price said Friday. "Is Devin [Mesoraco] going to be ready to start the season? Where does [Scott] Schebler fit best in our lineup? Where does [Eugenio] Suarez fit best? There's just too many questions for me to sign off on anything absolutely before we've played a game. I would imagine that Joey [Votto] would be hitting third on Opening Day. That's probably the one thing I would commit to."
Price did envision a possibility that could lead off again, and that seems probable. It could be quite interesting if speedy second baseman batted second between Hamilton and Votto.

"Do you want to go for the throat with those two guys 1 and 2?" Price said."Is it better to divide up the speed components and have someone like Peraza hitting in front of a guy like Suarez or [Zack] Cozart or someone further down the lineup that can drive them in, or Mesoraco? Those are the real questions that I've got to define over the course of spring."
• All Reds players with one exception reported to camp Friday in time for the first full-squad workout. Outfielder , a non-roster invite signed last week, was excused.
"He had some family business to take care of before he comes out here," Price said. "I think he flies [Saturday] and will be ready to go full-squad, first workout on Sunday."