SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The San Diego Padres, who have one of the National League's youngest rotations, bolstered their pitching staff on Tuesday by signing veterans Jesse Orosco and Francisco Cordova to one-year contracts.
Orosco, the all-time leader in games pitched and baseball's oldest active player at 45, was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA and one save last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite his age, he continues to perform as a situational reliever, holding opponents to a .229 batting average in 2002.
A San Diego native, Orosco joins his seventh team. He has a career mark of 85-78 with 142 saves and a 3.04 ERA in parts of 23 seasons.
Cordova, 30, missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage in his right elbow. He was Pittsburgh's Opening Day starter in 1998 and 1999 and went 42-47 with a 3.96 ERA in 166 games over four seasons for the Pirates.
While Orosco likely will set up closer Trevor Hoffman, Cordova could vie for a spot in a rotation that includes Dennis Tankersley (23), Adam Eaton (24), Jake Peavy (21) and Oliver Perez (21).
