Anaheim, Calif. — Seeking depth for their injury-plagued bullpen, the Braves signed veteran Jorge Julio, a former closer, to a minor-league contract Friday.

The hard-throwing right-hander was assigned to Class AAA Richmond, but could be brought up soon by the Braves, who begin a three-game weekend series Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels.

Julio, 29, had a 5.60 ERA in 15 appearances for Cleveland before he was released at the end of May. He has a 13-33 career record and a 4.40 ERA with 99 saves in 131 opportunities, including 83 saves in a three-season span with Baltimore in 2002-04.

"He's got great stuff," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "If a guy like that's a free agent, just makes sense for us to give him a chance. We signed him to give us some additional depth."

Julio's stock has slipped since those Baltimore years, and if the Braves call him to the majors, they would be his sixth major-league team in the past three seasons.

Before allowing five runs in 1 2/3 innings in his last appearance for Cleveland on May 23, Julio had pitched seven consecutive scoreless appearances with two hits, two walks and six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Braves closer Rafael Soriano is scheduled to see Dr. Lewis Yocum Friday at Angel Stadium in hopes of getting a better idea what's causing his lingering elbow soreness.

Yocum is the Los Angeles orthopedist who performed "Tommy John" ligament-transplant surgery on Soriano's right elbow in August 2004.

Soriano signed a two-year, $9 million contract in January that will pay him $6.1 million in 2009. He was sidelined for most of spring training with elbow soreness, then missed 45 games while on the disabled list for most of April and May with elbow tendinitis.