Pence, Patton get Spring invites

HOUSTON -- Hours after the Astros weeklong mini-camp concluded, general manager Tim Purpura announced that the club's two most promising prospects were given invitations to Major League Spring Training.

Outfielder Hunter Pence and left-hander Troy Patton, both of whom participated in the mini-camp, are not expected to make the club out of Spring Training, but they will participate in big-league camp this year. The Astros also invited catchers Kevin Davidson and Lou Santangelo to Major League camp.

Pence batted .283 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs in 136 games with Double-A Corpus Christi. The 23-year-old was a midseason and postseason Texas League All-Star and also participated in the All-Star Futures Game in July in Pittsburgh.

Patton ended the season with Corpus Christi, going 2-5 with a 4.37 ERA in eight starts after a promotion from Class A Advanced Salem. In 19 Carolina League starts, the 21-year-old was 7-7 with one complete game and a 2.93 ERA.

Purpura also announced the signings of two veteran pitchers to Minor League contracts. Right-hander Rick White, who pitched for the Astros briefly in 2003, and left-hander Scott Sauerbeck will attend Spring Training as non-roster invitees.

White, 38, split last season between Cincinnati and Philadelphia, posting a combined record of 4-1 with a 5.15 ERA. He went 1-0 with a 6.26 ERA for the Reds and was designated for assignment on June 19. Claimed by the Phillies on June 23, White posted a 3-1 record with a 4.34 ERA with Philadelphia.

Sauerbeck, 35, was a combined 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA over 46 games with Cleveland and Oakland in 2006. He began the season in Cleveland, where he went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA. He was designated for assignment and cleared waivers on June 16, before Oakland signed him as a free agent on June 19. With Oakland, he appeared in 22 games and logged a 3.65 ERA.