The Rockies signed lefty reliever Joe Beimel to a minor league deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal pays an $850K base salary in the Majors with $300K in incentives. Beimel believes he can be ready for the season, though he's likely to start the year in the minors. He was signed to step into the lefty reliever spot left vacant by Franklin Morales, who will fill in for injured closer Huston Street.
Last year Beimel signed on March 18th, so he's comfortable waiting for the right deal. The southpaw, 33 in April, continued to pitch well against lefties aside from allowing four home runs in 26 innings. It seems those home runs cost Beimel, as he got a guaranteed $2MM deal coming off an otherwise similar '08 season. Beimel has seen significant time against righties the last few years, and the results have not been pretty.
