Nov. 10, 2006
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers announced today that they have signed INF/OF Matt Kata to a minor league contract with an invite to the club’s major league spring training camp.
Kata, 28, spent the 2006 season with Louisville, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He batted .263 (87-331) with 45 runs, 20 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 34 RBI in 113 games. He made 70 starts in the outfield and 32 starts in the infield. Kata ranked 12th in the International League batting .342 (26-76) in the month of June, raising his batting average to a season-high .296. Kata He is currently playing for Mayos de Navojoa in the Mexican Winter League, batting .232 (23-99) with four home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games.
A native of Fairview Park, Ohio, Kata has played parts of three major league seasons with Arizona (2003-05) and Philadelphia (2005). He is a career .248 (121-487) hitter in 160 games in the majors, and a .282 hitter over seven seasons in the minors. He was named to the Baseball America High Class-A All-Star team in 2001 and the MVP of the Texas League All-Star game in 2002.
Originally selected by Minnesota in the 20th round of the 1996 June draft, Kata did not sign and attended Vanderbilt University. During his college career he batted .297 with 12 home runs and 85 RBI while never missing a game for the Commodores. He was selected by Arizona in the ninth round of the 1999 June draft and began his professional career with South Bend in the Midwest League. He made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks on June 15, 2003 as a pinch runner. Kata was traded to Philadelphia for RHP Tim Worrell and cash on July 21, 2005 and landed in the Reds organization on a waiver claim on March 15, 2006.
