The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed second baseman Nathan Sopena, a non-drafted free agent, who attended Eastern Illinois University. The move was announced today on Baseball America, but this apparently went down awhile ago, because a local feature story on Sopena from last August says that he will be playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 2014 and he is excited about the opportunity.
Sopena’s college career ended early due to a broken left hand and broken thumb on his right hand. It could be that those injuries delayed his signing. In his abbreviated senior season, he hit .277/.344/.349 in 83 at-bats. As a junior, he hit .207 in 140 at-bats. Prior to that, he spent two years at Heartland Community College. Sopena is a small player at 5’9″, 180 pounds. He turns 23 years old later this week. He should make his debut at either Jamestown or Bristol this year.
