Cedeno, Birds agree to minor league deal

Roger Cedeno agreed to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles after a 1 1/2-season layoff.

Cedeno has a .273 career average with five teams. He was traded by the New York Mets to St. Louis in April 2004 for Wilson Delgado and released by the Cardinals in June 2005.

If added to the 40-man roster, the 32-year-old outfielder would get a one-year contract that would pay him $500,000 in the major leagues and $100,000 in the minors. He could earn an additional $400,000 in performance bonuses and would get the entire amount if he plays in 120 games and has 550 plate appearances.

Baltimore also announced minor league contracts Friday with right-hander Jose Acevedo, who went 18-25 with a 5.74 ERA in five seasons with Cincinnati and Colorado; right-hander Rob Bell, 30-34 with a 5.69 ERA in six seasons with Cincinnati, Texas and Tampa Bay; and right-hander Francis Beltran, 2-2 with a 5.87 ERA in two seasons with the Chicago Cubs and Montreal.

Also agreeing to minor league contracts were right-handers Freddy Deza, Michael Doyne, Steve Green, Jon Leicester, Victor Moreno, and left-hander Chris Waters.

In addition, the Orioles agreed to minor league deals with catcher J.R. House, infielders Mike Cervanek, Jason Dubois, Jon Knott, Brandon Sing and Terry Tiffee; and outfielders Luis Montanez and Ruddy Yan.