SAN FRANCISCO -- Veteran infielder Ray Durham, whose career with the Giants seemed to be flagging, erupted with a sensational 2006 campaign and was rewarded with a two-year contract, San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean announced Friday. The San Jose Mercury News reported that the deal is worth $14 million. Durham, oft-injured during three previous seasons with San Francisco, stayed relatively healthy last season and stung the opposition by b atting .293 and boasting career highs with 26 homers and 93 RBIs. "We are fortunate to re-sign Ray Durham and keep him in a Giants uniform," Sabean said in the team's official news release. "His switch-hitting abilities and increased power numbers serve as a needed commodity for our evolving team. He has impressed us with his ability to transform his game from a top of the order run scorer to a middle of the lineup run producer." Durham, who celebrated his 35th birthday Thursday, proved bountiful batting fifth in the lineup behind slugger Barry Bonds and logged a .538 slugging percentage and batted an impressive .331 with runnners in scoring position, a .392 mark after June 27. His signing has other implications, especially for third baseman Pedro Feliz, who hit only .244 and struggled defensively while playing in 160 games. Although Feliz boasted 96 RBIs and 22 homers, he wore down during the season, and the Giants are expected to ink free agent Rich Aurilia on Saturday to a two-year deal worth about $7 million and put him at third. Aurilia, who starred for San Francisco from 1996 to 2003, comes off two solid seasons at Cincinnati, where he hit .300 last season. With Durham's re-signing, that means 24-year-old infield prospect Kevin Frandsen will get more valuable tutoring from Durham while coming off the bench. Also expected to sign Saturday for three years and $17 million is center fielder Dave Roberts, a free agent who played left field for San Diego. His hiring means Randy Winn will move to right field. Durham, a 12-year Major Leaguer, addressed leg issues by getting stronger last season and also showing better control while running, such as not going full-out on routine popups and getting better defensive reads. His power numbers were especially impressive, and his homer output was the second highest by a switch-hitter in franchise history, behind only J.T. Snow's 28 homers in 1997. Durham's RBI total was also topped among National League second basemen only by Philadelphia's Chase Utley (100), while his homers were third base behind Utley's 31 and Florida's Dan Uggla's 27 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.216.182.232