The Pirates are adding a little more catcher depth to their Class AAA roster, signing catcher Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league contract, sources tell DK Pittsburgh Sports.
He will report to Indianapolis.
Bethancourt was once a unanimous top-100 prospect for the Braves, ranking as high as No. 69 on Baseball America’s 2014 list, and cracking the top 100 in MLB Pipeline’s 2012, 2014 and 2015 lists.
He never was able to catch on in the majors, though, and slashed just .222/.252/.316 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs over 489 plate appearances between the Braves and Padres. He last played in the majors in 2017 for the Padres. He spent all of 2018 with the Brewers' Class AAA team and 2019 in the Korean Baseball Organization. He spent spring training with the Phillies, where he was one of their last cuts.
Bethancourt will be one of four catchers on Indianapolis’ roster to start the season, alongside Jason Delay and minor-league free agents Joe Hudson and Andrew Susac. Hudson, Delay and Susac each took part in major-league spring training and were at the alternate training site this April.
There will likely continue to be three catchers in Indianapolis for most of the year, though, as the Pirates will continue to use taxi squads for their road trips. For a team to carry the maximum of five reserve players, at least one has to be a catcher.
Susac was included on every taxi squad last season – and was activated for the season finale to recognize the work he did that season – and was been included on the first two this year. Delay will be on the taxi squad for the Pirates' trip to San Diego.
On Friday, the Pirates released AAA catcher Christian Kelley, who quickly signed with the Brewers.
This spring, Michael Pérez beat out minor-league free agent Tony Wolters for the backup catcher job. Pérez and Jacob Stallings are the only catchers on the 40-man roster.
Stallings had an injury scare Sunday against the Cardinals after getting hit in the face with a fastball. He remained in the game and said he was feeling better afterwards.
Indianapolis, and all of the Pirates’ affiliates, are set to get their seasons started Tuesday.