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St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kip Wells makes a move to first base on a pickoff attempt against the San Francisco Giants during their MLB National League baseball game in San Francisco, California April 19, 2007. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Free agent pitcher Kip Wells, a 10-year veteran in the major leagues, was signed by the Kansas City Royals Tuesday.

The 31-year-old had been playing for the Colorado Rockies this season before being designated for assignment last week.

"We signed him to pitch out of the bullpen for us," Royals manager Trey Hillman told the team's official website (http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com).

"I've spoken to some people about his condition this season and he's somebody we looked into as soon as we were a little bit light. As far as I know, he's healthy and ready to go.

"In the majority of his career, he's been a starter but he was signed with the understanding that he'd pitch out of the bullpen until there's further evaluation and (we) see where we're at."

Wells, who has also previously played for the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, has a 65-93 record and 4.64 ERA in 246 games.

This season, the right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.27 ERA in 15 appearances.

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Rex Gowar)