Orioles Sign INF Garrett Atkins

By MASN Staff

Orioles

March 29, 2010, 8:46am

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The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent INF GARRETT ATKINS to a one-year contract for 2010, with a club option for the 2011 season. Atkins, 30, is a career .298 hitter over seven major league seasons, all with Colorado. In 2006, Atkins set career highs with a .329 average, 48 doubles, 25 home runs and 120 RBI. He helped the Rockies to their first World Series appearance in 2007, where he homered in Game 4 of the Fall Classic. In 2009, Atkins batted .226 (80-354) with nine home runs and 48 RBI in 126 games for Colorado. He played 78 games at third base and 28 at first base for the Rockies and in five games as a designated hitter, batted .450 (9-20) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Originally selected in the fifth round of the 2000 draft by the Rockies out of UCLA, where he was a three-time all-American, Atkins made his major league debut August 3, 2003. With the addition of Atkins, the Orioles' 40-man major league roster is at capacity.