Giants sign Travis Blackley

The San Francisco Giants have signed left-handed pitcher Travis Blackley to a minor league contract, according to TheAge.com, an Australian newspaper.

Blackley, 29, just finished up pitching for the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League. For those of you who follow the Giants’ Class-A (Short Season) Salem-Keizer Volcanoes blog, Volcanoes Watching, you know that the Aces came within a game of beating Perth on Sunday for the ABL Championship.

In eight games for Melbourne, Blackley went 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA, 1.263 WHIP, 12.8 SO/9 rate, and 5.0 BB/9 rate.

This is Blackley’s second stint with the G-men. Originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 2000, Blackley appeared in two games with the Giants in 2007 (after he was traded by the Ms for Jason Ellison), allowing seven runs in 8.2 innings.

Local fans might remember his days with the Sacramento Rivercats or Stockton Ports.

The 6-3, 190-pound Melbourne native has also played in the minors for the A’s, D-backs, Mets and Phillies. He was rated as the 63rd best prospect in the country by Baseball America in 2004.

Blackley pitched in South Korea last season.

He’s expected to start the season at Triple-A Fresno, according to The Age.