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MINNEAPOLIS -- Andres Galarraga is back in baseball.

	Galarraga

The Anaheim Angels signed Galarraga to a minor-league contract Wednesday, and the 43-year-old free agent first baseman will report to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

Galarraga recently beat cancer for a second time and wants to return to the major leagues so he can reach 400 home runs. He has 398, tied with Dale Murphy for 40th on the career list.

Galarraga missed the 1999 season after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In November, he had a recurrence, underwent surgery and had a transplant in February that eliminated the disease.

He spent the 2003 season with San Francisco, where he hit .301 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 110 games. Known as "The Big Cat," he also has played for Montreal, St. Louis, Colorado, Atlanta and Texas in his 18-year career.

"We'll see if he's going to help us," manager Mike Scioscia said before Anaheim's game in Minnesota. "The guy is two years younger than me, and he's still playing. That's incredible."

The Angels also recalled catcher Wil Nieves from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday to take the roster spot of catcher Bengie Molina, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday night with a broken right index finger suffered Saturday behind the plate.

Nieves was batting .292 with nine homers and 45 RBI in 336 at-bats for the Stingers. Jose Molina, Bengie's brother, and Josh Paul will handle most of the catching duties for now.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press