Luis Nunez, who tied the Chattanooga Lookouts' single-game RBI record last July 4th, has been signed as a minor league free agent by the Atlanta Braves for 2013.
Nunez, who tied Mike Frank's club record with eight RBIs in that holiday contest, hit .257 with 11 home runs and 65 RBIs while playing six different positions for the Lookouts. The 26-year-old Venezuelan was playing his first year in the Dodgers' system after six years in the Yankees' chain.
He just completed play in the Venezuelan Winter League, hitting .252 with 34 RBIs in 57 games.
Nunez is one of 10 minor league free agents officially announced by the Braves so far, with three of them (infielders Blake DeWitt and Ramiro Pena and catcher Matt Pagnozzi) invited to the major league camp. DeWitt was with the Cubs for 18 games in 2012, Pena was a member of the Yankees for the last four seasons and Pagnozzi, son of former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi, was an Indians farmhand last season.
Dodgers Sign 17 Minor League FAs
C.J. Retherford, a veteran Southern Leaguer who spent 44 games as a member of the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2012, is one of 17 minor league free agents signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2013 season.
Among the notable signees, several of whom are ticketed for Chattanooga this year, are right-hander Juan Abreu, a former Top 20 prospect for the Braves who was traded to Houston in the Michael Bourn deal; 32-year-old third baseman Dallas McPherson, the current minor league home run king with 209 in his career; 23-year-old shortstop Miguel Rojas, who as a teenager was rated the best defensive infielder in the Reds' system.
Right-hander Hector Correa, signed away from the Giants' system, was rated the clubs' No. 11 prospect in 2011; catcher Wilkin Castillo was the Gwinnett Braves' everyday catcher much of the 2011 season; and a potential steal, Jeremy Moore, a former Angels outfield prospect who was ranked their No. 11 prospect in 2011, but who missed all of 2012 due to hip surgery from an injury suffered late in spring training.
Minor league players will be reporting to camp within the next two weeks. The Lookouts will have a new manager, Jody Reed, at the helm of the 2013 system.