THE PHILLIES signed nine players to minor league contracts, including Jeff Francoeur, and invited them to spring training.
The non-roster invitees are:
* Andres Blanco: The 30-year-old infielder batted .277 in 25 games for the Phils last season.
* Brian Bogusevic: The 30-year-old outfielder has played 299 major league games over four seasons with the Astros and Cubs. He batted .236 with 17 home runs, 62 RBI and 22 stolen bases.
* Russ Canzler: The 28-year-old utility man played at Lehigh Valley and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre last season. He has played 29 games in the majors.
* Chase d'Arnaud: The 27-year-old played all three outfield positions, second base and third base last season for Triple A Indianapolis. In 118 games, he batted .250 with 16 doubles, nine triples, two home runs and 23 RBI. He has played 64 major league games with the Pirates.
* Jeff Francoeur: The 30-year-old veteran has played 1,237 major league games (Braves, Mets, Rangers, Royals, Giants, Padres). He has a .262 batting average with 250 doubles, 140 home runs and 619 RBI. He only played 10 games for the Padres last season and 115 games for Triple A El Paso.
* John Hester: The 31-year-old catcher played 71 games for Triple A Salt Lake last season, hitting .261, with six homers and 29 RBI.
* Darin Mastroiani: The 29-year-old outfielder played 21 games in the majors last season and 92 games in Triple A.
* Xavier Paul: The 29-year-old outfielder played 14 games for the Diamondbacks and 81 games for Triple A Norfolk last season. He is a 6-year major league veteran (349 games), and has batted .250 with 12 home runs and 71 RBI.
* Elvis Araujo. The 23-year-old lefthander at Double A Akron and Single A Carolina last season. He was 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA and 11 saves in 43 games. The native of Venezuela is 6-6 and was signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent in 2007.