Marlins, Elephants, Indians ... Oh, My!

The Indians have signed another pitcher unknown to many and familiar to few: Todd Moser. Those fans of the Brother Elephants team in Taiwan know him as the guy who led the Chinese Professional Baseball League with 13 saves in 2007. If you follow independent ball in America, you may have heard of him with Somerset of the Atlantic League. Before that, he spent six years in the Marlins' system.

Moser, 32, isn't exactly a household name -- maybe even in his own house. But the Indians are bringing him to minor-league training camp with the hope that the 6-foot-5 left-hander has some life left in his arm to go with his worldly experiences.

Moser was drafted three times -- by the Marlins in the 60th round in 1994, the Blue Jays in the 33rd round in 1995 and by Florida again in the 14th round in 1999 after earning All-American honors at Florida Atlantic University.

He signed with Florida and his first two pro seasons at age 22-23 were good ones. He went 8-2 with a 1.53 ERA in 14 starts for Utica of the New York-Penn League in 1999 and then 9-5 with a 2.83 ERA at Class A Kane County.

A serious elbow injury that required surgery limited him to 7 1/3 innings the following season and he has never been quite the same. The Marlins released him after he worked 20 games in relief in 2004 (0-0, 6.67 ERA) and he pitched the second half of that year at Double-A (2-5, 5.33 ERA) in the Cardinals' system and has been out of organized ball ever since.

His minor-league career in America, including two years with Somerset (2005-06) and last year with Kansas City in independent ball, show a 43-28 record, 3.39 ERA and two saves in 154 games, including 102 starts. He has walked only 178 in 668 2/3 innings with 493 strikeouts over that time.

Despite his size, Moser is considered a finesse pitcher with the changeup being his most effective pitch. He also throws a two-seam fastball that sits in the upper 80s, a curve and slider.