Mariners sign RHP Millwood

SEATTLE – In 2005, right-hander Kevin Millwood recorded a 2.86 earned-run average – lowest in the American League – in his lone season pitching for the Cleveland Indians.

Now Millwood will be reunited with his Cleveland manager (Eric Wedge) and pitching coach (Carl Willis), having agreed to a minor-league contract with the Mariners.

Millwood, 37, will likely compete for a spot in the rotation behind Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas and, most likely, Hasashi Iwakuma, a free agent from Japan signed earlier this winter.

Another rotation candidate is right-hander Hector Noesi, whose acquisition from the Yankees, along with catcher Jesus Montero, is expected to be officially announced Monday.

Millwood has a career 163-140 record, and was a National League All-Star in 1999, when he went 18-7 with a 2.68 ERA for the Atlanta Braves.

But his last two years have been rocky. He was 4-16 with a 5.10 ERA with the Orioles in 2010. In 2011, he was 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA for the Rockies. This winter, Millwood reportedly turned down a one-year, $1 million offer to return to Colorado.