By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Despite being sidelined for most of the year because of an injury, Antoan Richardson has signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates as he gets set to resume his Major League Baseball career in 2016.

Richardson, who played briefly with the Texas Rangers this year before a back and leg injury that led to surgery ended with him being granted free agency, said he was delighted to finally get a new deal completed as he can now fully concentrate on his rehabilitation.

“We’ve been working on stuff for the last two weeks trying to finalise some stuff and it was actually more my decision on who I was going to decide to go with,” said Richardson, who along with his marketing agency Orpeus Sports, came up with what turned out to be the best deal.

There were three teams on the list, including the Toronto Bluejays, the Boston Red Sox and the Pirates. Pittsburgh proved to more fruitful than any of the other two offers in terms of the dollar sign. But regardless of the numbers, Richardson said he’s just relieved that he has completed a contractual agreement.

“I didn’t really know what to expect coming off free agency, considering that I didn’t play last year,” Richardson said. “So it was kind of iffy about what was going to come my way,” he said. “I was grateful to have as many offers that I had, but this one just seemed to be the one that made sense. After speaking to the front office guys, it seemed like a good fit, so hopefully I can get healthy. I think this will be a good place to be.”

The Pirates clinched a wild card berth into the Major League playoffs this year after finishing second in the Central Division of the National League. However, they got eliminated after getting shut out 4-0 by the Chicago Cubs.

With this being the Christmas season, Richardson said it was like “Christmas” came early as he got his present in the form of his new contract with his eighth Major League team since he began his professional career in 2005 with the San Francisco Giants. He has played extensively throughout the minor league.

“I’ve been working really hard to get back on the field, so to have this kind of reward after putting in the work, is really good to have the contract squared away and be able to not to be thinking about that right now,” Richardson stated. “So it’s good to know what the situation is going to be, going into next year.”

Although he’s recuperating from back and foot surgery, Richardson said the next step is for him to report to the Pirates’ training facilities in Pittsburgh in the middle of January and get ready for spring training in February.

“The goal right now is for them to make sure that I get healthy so that I can contribute,” he said. “Speaking with the managers and so forth, they just want to make sure that I’m healthy when I get to camp and I’m able to move around and then the rest is in my hands, trying to make it through spring training.

“If not, I didn’t have enough at bats last year, so I might have to go down to Triple A and prove that I’m healthy and back in baseball shape and work my way back up and get my repetitions in so that I can get back to the big leagues and help their team win and get back to the playoffs.”

Over the last decade, Richardson found himself having to go through the minor league ranks to prove that he is capable of playing in the majors and he was successful in achieving that goal.

“The journey is the worst part about it because there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a lot of different things,” he said. “I think that’s what makes the destination so enjoyable. But I have no problem going down that route, whichever route it is.

“Once I’m making the right decisions and taking care of my body. I will do my best to enjoy the journey, but I’m looking forward to the end of the journey because that’s the sweet part about it.”

By January 1, Richardson is expected to return to the doctors and hopefully he will be given a “clean bill of health” so that he can get back on the field and start preparing for the upcoming season.

“The back is good to go, but the clearance for the foot is January 1 to begin running,” he said. “After that, it’s just going to be how my body responds. We will take an x-ray to make sure that my body is exactly the way it should be and the next thing is just building up to full speed.

“It will be an exciting time, but I’m nervous because I don’t know what to expect. I have spoken to my good friend Albert Cartwright, who had an Achilles injury. I’ve been talking to him about getting back on the field and how he felt running again for the first time. He has kind of been helping me. It’s like the old guy helping the younger guy, but this time the younger guy is helping the younger guy. So he’s been helping me through this process. So it’s good to have him in my corner.”

Richardson said his trainers have labelled him as a “cage man” just getting ready to be unleashed to move around.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back on the field. I’m looking forward to just jogging, just looking forward to doing anything athletically related so I can feel good about that part of the game again,” he said. “Last year, it was unfortunate that I wasn’t able to perform, to actually play on the field and hold up my end of the bargain.

“So hopefully this time, I can actually get a chance to play and earn the contract. So I’m looking forward to this one year and I can play and most importantly be injury free. One of the things that every team discusses with me is yes, you’re healthy, but you have to be cautious when you come off a year where you didn’t play.”