The Pirates have signed catcher Kelly Shoppach to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis, the team announced via press release. The 33-year-old Shoppach recently opted out of a minor league pact with the Nationals that he had signed after being released by the Mariners earlier in the year.
Shoppach hit .196/.293/.346 with three homers in 35 games for the Mariners and was leaned upon heavily with the demotion of Jesus Montero. It's not surprising that Shoppach, who has a drastic platoon split, struggled when pressed into everyday action. He's batted just .204/.289/.367 against right-handed pitching in his career but owns a healthy .261/.355/.501 batting line against southpaws. He did struggle against lefties this season, but those struggles came in a small sample size of 30 plate appearances.
Shoppach originally signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Mariners this offseason, of which Seattle still must pay the majority. He drew interest after opting out of his deal with the Nats, reportedly receiving an offer from the Cardinals.
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