Indians sign Ginter, Rivas
Ginter, 30, spent the entire 2006 season at Triple-A Sacramento in the Oakland A's organization where he hit .268 (113-for-442) with 29 doubles, 13 home runs and 68 RBIs in 114 games. He also scored 71 runs and posted a .354 (35-for-99) batting average and 56 RBIs with runners in scoring position.
Ginter began his professional career in 1998 after being selected by Houston in the 10th round out of Texas Tech. He was acquired by Milwaukee in September 2002 and led National League rookies with 14 home runs in 2003 with the Brewers. In 2004, he finished second on the Milwaukee club with 19 home runs while hitting .262 (101-for-386) with 23 doubles, 19 home runs and 60 RBIs in 113 games, primarily at second and third base. He owns a career Major League average of .243 (236-for-971) with 52 doubles, 38 home runs and 140 RBIs in 325 games with Houston, Milwaukee and Oakland. His career Minor League average is .286 (715-for-2498) with 93 home runs and 392 RBIs in 693 games.
Rivas, 27, owns a Major League batting average of .262 (493-for-1884) with 86 doubles, 26 triples, 30 homers, 177 RBIs and 78 steals in 565 games with the Minnesota Twins over six seasons. His best season came in 2001 as a rookie at just 21 years of age, hitting .266 (150-for-563) with 21 doubles, six triples, seven home runs, 47 RBIs and 31 steals in 153 games. His 31 stolen bases were ninth in the American League in 2001 and his nine triples in 2003 were tied for fourth in the AL. He last appeared in the Majors in 2005, hitting .257 (35-for-136) with the Twins before becoming a free agent after the season.
Rivas spent the 2006 season at Triple-A Durham in the Tampa Bay organization. He hit .218 (50-for-229) with eight doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs in 69 games for the Bulls after missing the first two months of the season after breaking a knuckle and undergoing surgery on his right hand in Spring Training.