CLEVELAND, OH -- The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has signed catcher George Kottaras and right-handed pitcher Mark Lowe to minor league contracts. Both players have been assigned to the Triple-A Columbus roster.
Kottaras, 30, is a six-year Major League veteran catcher who debuted with Terry Francona's Boston Red Sox in 2008. He owns a career Major League on-base percentage of .324 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI in 295 games with Boston, Milwaukee, Oakland and Kansas City. He was traded by Kansas City to the Chicago Cubs this past off-season and was recently released after appearing in 12 exhibition games with the Cubs.
The Markham, Ontario native began his professional career in 2002 after being selected in the 20th round of the First-Year Player Draft by the San Diego Padres out of Connors State College (OK). He was a member of the Greek national baseball team entry in the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece.
Lowe, 30, owns a career Major League record of 8-20 with 5 saves and a 4.17ERA in 264 relief appearances with Seattle, Texas and the LA Angels after debuting with the Mariners in 2006 (274.1IP, 273H, 127ER, 124BB, 236K, .259AVG). The Sugar Land, TX native was Seattle's 5th round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Texas-Arlington.
Lowe, who was a member of the 2013 LA Angels Opening Day roster, was a non-roster invitee with the Tamp Bay Rays this spring, going 1-0 with a 0.87ERA in 7 outings (10.1IP, 11H, 4R/1ER, 1BB, 12K) before requesting his release on March 26.
