The Reds added two pitchers Tuesday when they signed left-handers Kent Mercker and Felix Heredia to minor-league contracts.

Mercker, 34, and Heredia, 27, will be invited to major-league camp.

Mercker spent last season with the Colorado Rockies. He went 3-1 with a 6.14 ERA in a career-high 58 appearances.

He suffered a broken left hand trying to field a comebacker June5 and missed the next 42 games.

Mercker, the No.1 pick of the Atlanta Braves in 1986, previously pitched for the Reds in 1997. He went 8-11 with a 3.92 ERA in 25 starts and three relief appearances.

Mercker is fortunate to be pitching at all. On May 11, 2000, while pitching for the Anaheim Angels, he suffered a brain hemorrhage. He returned to pitching three months later.

Overall, Mercker is 66-62 with a 4.38 ERA in 15 big-league seasons.

Heredia spent last season with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 1-2 with a 3.61 ERA in 521/3 innings. Heredia, who also has played three stints with the Chicago Cubs and four with the Florida Marlins since 1996, is 22-15 with a 4.69 career ERA.

- John Fay