The Venezuelan pitcher Ricardo Palma joins the Italian Baseball League club CARIPARMA filling another foreign-player spot besides Johnny Carvajal and Orlando Munoz. The left-hander Palma was born on September 26, 1979 in Maracay, Venezuela and signed as an undrafted amateur free agent with the Chicago Cubs in 1996. He made his professional debut one year later at the age of 17 in the NY-Penn League (Low A).
The southpaw was a starter for his first four years of his professional career moving up the ladder to High-A in 2000. In 2001 Palma moved to the bullpen, while reaching the Double-A level in the Cubs organization. After debuting in the Pacific Coast League (AAA) in the summer of 2002, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, going back to Double-A. His contract expired following the 2003 season and he signed with the Detroit Tigers for the 2004 season, his last in the United States. He ended his minor league career with a 3.59 ERA in 277 games (82 starts), a 36-56 record and 516 strikeouts (245 walks) in 692 innings.
The following years Palma pitched mainly in the Venezuelan Winter League. During the 2008/2009 season he appeared in eight games (three starts), allowing 13 runs (8 ER) on 18 hits in 11 2/3 innings, striking out five. He also pitched for Venezuelan in the inaugural edition of the World Baseball Classic in 2006.
PARMA already had added pitchers Mihai Burlea and Danny Newman, catcher Johnny Balentina, infielders Johnny Carvajal and Davide Dallospedale and outfielder Laidel Chapelli to the roster for the 2009 season. The Italian Baseball League opens its doors on April 10th.
