Angels Fill Roster Holes With Rapp and Bartee

The Angels agreed to terms Monday with free-agent pitcher Pat Rapp and outfielder Kimera Bartee on one-year contracts, giving their rotation some much-needed depth and their bench some much-needed speed.

The Angels also selected left-handed reliever Rendy Espina, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, from the Toronto Blue Jays’ triple-A Syracuse roster in the Rule 5 draft. To make room for Rapp and Bartee on the 40-man roster, the Angels designated minor league outfielder Scott Morgan for assignment.

Rapp, 33, is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-hander who has a 65-79 record and 4.67 earned-run average in eight big league seasons. He has played for five teams--Florida, San Francisco, Kansas City, Boston and Baltimore--in the past five years, going 9-12 with a 5.90 ERA last season.

“He’s demonstrated he can pitch a lot of innings, his stuff his good, and he played in a bandbox [Camden Yards] last year, so his numbers weren’t that good,” said Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman, who hopes to sign one more free-agent pitcher. “He’ll have better run support next year.”

Bartee, 28, hit .298 with eight homers, 48 runs batted in, 19 doubles, 69 runs and 28 stolen bases in 119 games for triple-A Louisville last season. He spent seven years in the Oriole and Detroit Tiger systems, batting .224 with 32 RBIs and 36 stolen bases in 231 big league games before being released by Detroit before the 2000 season.

Espina went 6-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 53 games for double-A Tennessee last season. He pitched for the Minnesota Twin organization from 1995-97 and the Philadelphia Phillie organization in 1998.