Marlins To Sign Chaz Roe

11:43am: MLBTR has confirmed that Roe signed a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

7:23am: The Marlins will sign right-hander Chaz Roe, reports MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (on Twitter). Roe, 27, cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Rangers last week. The Sosnick/Cobbe client rejected an outright assignment from the club and elected free agency yesterday. He was said to be deciding between two clubs last night after six teams had shown interest in signing him.

Though he struggled with his command in his Major League debut last season — he walked 13 batters in 22 1/3 innings — Roe also posted a solid 4.03 with 24 strikeouts and an outstanding 57.1 percent ground-ball rate. He works primarily with a fastball/slider combination and averaged 91.4 mph on his heater in the Majors last year.

Roe struggled in the minors in 2010, posting a 5.98 ERA with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliated before posting an even more discouraging 6.59 ERA with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate in 2011. The following season, Roe pitched for the independent league Laredo Lemurs and converted to the bullpen full-time after having spent most of his career as a starter. The shift worked wonders, as he posted a brilliant 1.55 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 55 innings. That led to a minor league deal with the D-Backs, with whom he made his big league debut after posting an even more impressive 1.11 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 at the Triple-A level.