Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat reports that the Yankees have signed catcher Rene Rivera to a contract. Rivera told Ashmore that he is reporting to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton.
Rivera, 26, was a second-round pick of the Mariners in the 2001 amateur draft. He hit .227/.252/.333 in 159 plate appearances with Seattle from 2004 to 2006, and spent the last two seasons in the Dodgers and Mets' systems, respectively. MLBTR's Howard Megdal recently mentioned Rivera in his look at the Atlantic League, where Rivera was tied for the league lead in homers playing for the Camden Riversharks.
The signing is a depth move for the Bronx Bombers, who will be without Jorge Posada for the next 3-4 weeks due to a broken bone in the star catcher's foot. New York just today called up veteran catcher Chad Moeller (who had been in Scranton) to back up new starter Francisco Cervelli. If you're wondering about the Yankees' star catching prospect Jesus Montero, he's only hitting .230/.304/.385 at Triple-A this season, so the Yanks clearly aren't ready to bring him up to the majors quite yet.
