TIM RAINES, JR. SIGNED BY MAZATLAN

Former major league outfielder Tim Raines, Jr. has been signed to a contract by the Mazatlan Venados. The son of MLB’s fourth-leading all-time base stealer, the younger Raines was Baltimore’s sixth-round draft pick in 1998 and went on to play in three seasons for the Orioles between 2001 and 2004, batting .213 with no homers and seven RBIs. He played in a game with his father against Toronto on October 3, 2001.

Raines, Jr. spent last summer with Somerset and Newark of the independent Atlantic League, batting .283 in 124 games and finishing fourth in the league with 42 stolen bases. After hitting .241 in 86 games for Somerset, Raines heated up and hit .367 in 38 contests after moving to Newark. Over his 13-year minor league career, the 31-year-old switch-hitter has batted .270 with 1,262 hits, 77 homers and 454 steals in 1,288 games.

Raines is projected as the Venados’ leadoff batter. To make room for him, the Venados dropped Padres infield prospect Matt Clark from their roster. Clark was hitting just .196 with no homers in 13 games.