Brandon Inge agrees to sign with A's
(CBS/AP) BOSTON - Third baseman Brandon Inge has agreed to terms on a contract with the Oakland Athletics.
Once they put him on the 40-man roster, the A's only must pay Inge a prorated portion of the $480,000 minimum — or about $412,000 — of the $5,308,743 he was owed when released by Detroit on Thursday.
Inge hit .100 (2 for 20) with one homer and two RBIs in nine games this season. Inge, who turns 35 on May 19, joins his first new team in his 12th major league season.
He'll try to fill a void at third, where the A's lost projected starter Scott Sizemore to a season-ending knee injury in the first full-squad workout Feb. 27.
Oakland manager Bob Melvin has tried Josh Donaldson, Eric Sogard and Luke Hughes in the spot so far. That trio left for the current road trip batting a combined .111 with eight errors.
Oakland designated Hughes for assignment Monday to clear roster room.
Inge is a .234 career hitter with 140 homers and 589 RBIs.
"It's just hard to fathom (Inge) found a team for which he represents an upgrade at third base," CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman notes. "But he did."