Greg Johns of MLB.com tweets that the Pittsburgh Pirates might sign utility player Chris Gimenez, who recently elected free agency after being outrighted by the Seattle Mariners. Gimenez can’t sign until Thursday after refusing the outright assignment.
In his career, Gimenez has a .171/.279/.272 line in 228 at-bats, including a .203/.314/.271 line in 59 at-bats in 2011. He’s played first base, left field, right field, and catcher in the majors, spending most of his time behind the plate. If signed he would likely be on a minor league deal and a non-roster invitee, since the Pirates could have claimed him if they wanted him on a major league deal. He turned 29 in December.
UPDATE Thursday 4:52 PM: Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports that the Rays have signed Gimenez.
February 14, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Yeah, no thanks.
February 14, 2012 at 7:55 pm
looking to boost the fort’s confidence at the plate?
February 14, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe they are even interested in him.
I guess they have to make up for the hopeful good news of possibly getting Burnett though.
Can’t have too much potentially good news for a Pirates fan, it always has to be balanced with some lousy news to keep things normal.
February 14, 2012 at 8:12 pm
its………..just…………a……….minor………league………addition…………if………..it…………happens!!!!!!!!!!
you see, each MLB team has a farm system with about 6-8 teams. they are called minor league teams. the minor leaguers are paid by the MLB team. each minor league team HAS TO HAVE players.
see a pattern?
February 15, 2012 at 12:46 am
People freak out when they see this stuff just because there are only 2-3 articles a week talking about the possibility of adding players. There are a lot more Brandon Wood’s being picked up than there are A.J. Burnetts
February 14, 2012 at 9:26 pm
I knew the Pirate’s dumpster was huge but I really didn’t figure Neal would be diving so deep into it.
February 14, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Solid fielder that can play catcher and anywhere else except middle infield. Has an .837 OPS in the minors. They could do worse for AAA depth.
February 15, 2012 at 1:00 am
Yeah, it’s not as if they really expect him to play. Organizational depth is a good thing
February 15, 2012 at 7:14 am
If there is an emergency, I’d rather see Tony Sanchez.
February 15, 2012 at 10:11 am
We probably would, this would most likely just be depth in the minors unless it really hit the fan like last year. Maybe he does well though and becomes a viable option.
February 15, 2012 at 9:17 am
We’ll see Sanchez soon enough if he plays well and stays out of trouble all year. Gimenez may not even make the AAA roster unless he plays well. I do think that Gimenez’ signing could signal that Sanhez is gonna start at AA instead of AAA, but we’ll see.
February 15, 2012 at 9:54 am
Another stellar dive into the dumpster for NH!!