Phillies Invite Three More to Spring Training

The Phillies have signed three additional players to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training as non-roster players, Assistant General Manager Scott Proefrock announced today.

• Dave Bush, RHP – An eight-year major league veteran, Bush began the 2011 season with the Texas Rangers, going 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 17 games (three starts).  The 32-year-old also made nine starts combined between triple-A Iowa and triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs last season.  Originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2002 draft, Bush has a career major league record of 56-69 with a 4.70 ERA in 210 games (187 starts) for Toronto (2004-05), the Milwaukee Brewers (2006-10) and Texas.

• Steven Lerud, C – Lerud, 27, spent the entire 2011 season with the Bowie Baysox, the Baltimore Orioles double-A affiliate.  He posted a .994 fielding percentage in 53 games at catcher, committing just two errors in 362 total chances.  In 650 career minor league games, Lerud has a .221 batting average with 116 doubles, 53 home runs and 270 RBI.  A native of Reno, Nev., Lerud was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 2003 draft.

• David Purcey, LHP – Purcey appeared in 33 major league games in 2011, going 1-2 with a 5.61 ERA between the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers.  He also appeared in eight games with the triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, posting a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings.  In 87 career major league games (21 starts), he is 6-12 with a 5.38 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 180.2 innings.  The 29-year-old left-hander was originally drafted by Toronto in the first round (16^th overall) of the 2004 draft.