After a single at-bat in 2005 with the Cleveland Indians, Juan Gonzalez has decided to give it another shot to play in the bigs. Today the St. Louis Cardinals signed Gonzalez to a Minor League Contract, with an invite to the Major League camp at Spring Training. Juan Gone’s last home run came in 2004, as a member of the Kansas City Royals. He has 434 career home runs, 1404 career RBI’s, a .295 lifetime average and 1936 hits. Gonzalez’s best year at the dish was in 1996, when he clubbed 47 home runs, 144 RBI’s, a .314 average and won the American League MVP as well as the Silver Slugger.

Gonzalez’s other comeback attempts have fallen short. In 2004 when Juan signed with the Kansas City Royals for 4.5 million dollars, he was frequently injured and his campaign amounted to just 33 games. In 2005 Juan signed a contract that could have resulted in 2.55 million dollars if Gonzalez were to stay healthy…after one at-bat those plans were scrapped. So now Gonzo is at a crossroads in his career…there is no pressure on him to succeed for the well-being of the Cardinals, but if he were to stay healthy for even 200 at-bats he could be a major diamond in the rough. Only time will tell.