Osborn Adds Speier and Manning to the Roster and Continues to Bolster Bullpen

Osborn Adds Speier and Manning to the Roster and Continues To Bolster Bullpen

Posted by TBN On 02/16/2012

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs manager Patrick Osborn has announced the signing of former big league relief pitcher Ryan Speier. Speier, a right-hander, has spent parts of four seasons with the Colorado Rockies in the Major Leagues. Speier also pitched out of the bullpen in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Charlie Manning will also rejoin the Blue Crabs after spending the 2011 season with the club.

Speier comes to the Blue Crabs after spending last season with the Nippon Fighters of the Japan Pacific League where he went 4-8 with a 4.60 ERA. Speier is no stranger to Southern Maryland, as he was a member of the 2010 squad helping lead the Blue Crabs to the Liberty Division Championship Series and an 82-57 record, the best record in Blue Crabs history. Speier would go 3-4 that year with an ERA of 3.36. In 2008, Speier pitched in a career-high 43 Major League games for the Rockies. He finished with a 2-1 record, a 4.06 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in 51 innings that season. Overall Speier is 7-3 in his Major League career with a 3.99 ERA in 90 career games and 99.1 innings pitched with Colorado, all in relief.

Manning, 32, is a veteran left-handed reliever who pitched in 57 games for the Washington Nationals in the major leagues during the 2008 season. Manning struck out 37 batters in 42 innings in 2008, while holding left-handed batters to a .203 batting average. Manning went 1-3 with the Nationals with a 5.14 ERA. Manning was a member of the 2011 Blue Crabs roster, going 2-3 with an ERA of 4.04 in 49 innings of work.

Manning was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 2001 draft out of the University of Tampa. Manning spent parts of three seasons in the Yankees system before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds on July 31, 2003 as part of a deal that brought Aaron Boone to the Yankees. New York re-acquired Manning in 2004, and he remained in the Yankees system through the 2007 season. The Nationals signed him as a free-agent, and he was called up to the major league club during the 2008 season. Following the 2008 season, Manning was picked up on waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals. Manning spent the 2009 season in Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds, where he went 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 43 relief appearances.

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