O's invite eight to spring training, sign Jan Novak

The Orioles today announced that they have signed outfielders Lew Ford, Conor Jackson and Jason Pridie, right-handers Daniel McCutchen and Adam Russell, and catchers Allan de San Miguel, Jose Gil and Chris Robinson to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training. The Orioles have also signed 18-year old left-hander Jan Novak from the Czech Republic. Ford, 36, is a career .268 hitter (425-1585) with 35 home runs and 176 RBI in 519 major league games with the Twins and Orioles. Ford batted .183 (13-71) with three home runs and four RBI for the Orioles in 2012. Jackson, 30, is a career .271 hitter (591-2184) with 52 home runs and 295 RBI in 658 major league games with the Diamondbacks, Athletics and Red Sox. In 2012, he batted .277 (88-318) with nine home runs and 41 RBI in 88 games for Triple-A Charlotte in the White Sox organization. Pridie, 29, is a career .230 hitter (51-222) with five home runs and 23 RBI in 121 major league games from 2008-2012 with the Twins, Mets and Phillies. In 2012, he batted .300 (3-10) with a home run and three RBI for the Phillies and .298 (53-178) with five homers and 22 RBI in 49 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization. McCutchen, 30, appeared in 108 major league games (15 starts) from 2009-2012 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 8-11 with a 4.77 ERA (188.2IP, 100ER). He spent the majority of 2012 with Triple-A Indianapolis, where he went 7-2 with a 2.98 ERA (63.1IP, 21ER) in 36 games (one start). Russell, 29, was 8-3 with a 3.95 ERA (86.2IP, 38ER) in 85 major league relief appearances from 2008-2011 with the White Sox, Padres and Rays. He spent 2012 in the minor leagues with the Braves and Angels, going 3-3 with a 7.02 ERA (50.0IP, 39ER) in 44 relief outings. De San Miguel, 24, batted .239 (52-218) with six home runs and 35 RBI between Class-A Frederick, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk in the Orioles organization in 2012. Gil, 26, batted .213 (54-253) with six homers and 32 RBI between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization in 2012. Robinson, 28, batted .232 (41-177) with 18 RBI in 52 games for Triple-A Norfolk in 2012. Novak, 18, was invited to participate in the MLB European Academy (a yearly three week camp for prospects held in Tirrenia, Italy) in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In eight games during the 2011-2012 academies, Novak struck out 27 batters and allowed just 11 hits over 22.0 innings while allowing just six earned runs (2.45 ERA). Novak also played in the IBAF 18-and-under AAA World Championships in Seoul, South Korea in 2012.