Cubs, pitcher Fox agree to terms on minor-league contract

The Cubs on Wednesday agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Chad Fox on a 2009 minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to major league spring sraining.

Fox, 38, was a non-roster invitee to Cubs Spring Training in 2008, his second stint with the club, and was added to the major league roster May 2. He made three relief appearances, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (2 ER/3.1 IP) before his season ended May 19 after landing on the disabled list with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow. It was his first major league action since 2005, when he made 11 relief appearances for the Cubs before landing on the disabled list April 26 with a right elbow strain, an injury that ended his campaign.

The righthander is 10-12 with six saves and a 3.60 ERA (91 ER/227.2 IP) in 217 major league relief appearances in all or part of nine big league seasons with Atlanta (1997), Milwaukee (1998-99, 2001-02), Boston (2003), Florida (2003-04) and the Cubs (2005, 2008). He has 262 strikeouts in 227.2 innings pitched, an average of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, and has limited opponents to a .230 batting average.

The six-foot-three, 190-pound Fox enjoyed his best major league campaign with the Brewers in 2001, going 5-2 with two saves and a 1.89 ERA (14 ER/66.2 IP) in a career-high 65 appearances. Fox was also a member of the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, going 2-1 with a 2.13 (6 ER/25.1 IP) in 21 outings after signing with the club that August.