The Colorado Rockies announced the signing of two players to Minor League deals: Eric Duncan and Geno Espineli. Duncan was the New York Yankees’ first round draft pick in 2003 (27th overall), a local pick since he came from Florham Park, NJ. As an 18-year-old, Duncan hit .301 with an .836 OPS between the Gulf Coast League and the New-York Penn League.
He eventually made it to the Triple-A level, but he never quite showed a progression in skills. He stagnated at the Triple-A level with the Yankees through 2009. He joined the Atlanta Braves’ organization in 2010 and hit .267/.323/.396 for their Double-A Mississippi team.
A third baseman originally, Duncan eventually started to play first base and both corner outfield spots. He played the majority of his games in 2010 at second base.
Espineli has been a reliever in the San Francisco Giants organization since he was selected in 14th round of the 2004 draft. He appeared in the majors in 2008 for 15 appearances, but to make anything out of his numbers would be meaningless given the small sample size.
Both players received invitations to Spring Training.