The Dodgers have signed pitcher Russ Ortiz and outfielder Michael Restovich to minor league deals, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Russ Ortiz, who turns 36 in June, has not had an ERA under 5.51 since 2004. From the beginning of the 2005 season, there have been 373 different pitchers to throw at least 200 innings. Ortiz has the worst ERA (6.56), worst adjusted ERA (67), and worst OPS against (.916) of the bunch. Over that span, Ortiz has walked 5.0 batters per nine innings while striking out just 5.2 batters per nine. Only Steve Trachsel has a worse strikeout-to-walk ratio than than Ortiz during that time. Ortiz has been so bad that his 4.61 FIP and 4.64 x-FIP last season counts as a massive improvement, as they were his best marks in five seasons. You may remember Ortiz and the Astros beating the Dodgers last April.
Restovich, who turned 31 last Sunday, last played in the majors in 2007 with the Nationals. He played in Japan in 2008, with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. In 2009, Restovich played for the Triple A Charlotte Knights in the White Sox organization, hitting .290/.366/.505 in 135 games (per Minor League Splits, it was a major league equivalent of .246/.310/.393). Perhaps more importantly, Restovich can help lead karaoke in Glendale this spring: