The Pirates announced another batch of signings Friday, including JT Riddle to a major league deal and four others to minor-league contracts with invitations to spring training.
Riddle, 28, slashed .189/.230/.371 with six home runs and 12 RBIs over 139 plate appearances for the Marlins in 2019. He is a utiltyman, primarily playing shortstop and center field.
His season was cut short due to a forearm strain, sidelining him on July 18.
He will need to make the opening day major league team or be removed from the roster.
The Pirates' roster is now full with 40 players.
The team confirmed left-handers Robbie Erlin and Derek Holland both signed minor-league contracts with spring invites, as previously reported. Additionally, they are inviting catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charles Tilson, both of whom were once second-round draft picks.
Tilson, 27, gives the Pirates a little more depth in center field. He was once ranked as the number seven prospect in the Cardinals' farm system by MLB Pipeline in 2015, but his stock has steadily been decreasing since then. He elected free agency over an outright assignment this winter after slashing .229/.293/.285 with one home run, 12 RBIs and -0.2 fWAR over 157 plate appearances for the White Sox.
His best tool is his speed, averaging a sprint speed over 29.1 ft./sec, the 45th-best in baseball. He has not used that speed to steal many bases though, going 6/9 in his major-league career on stolen base attempts.
Susac, 29, is a journeyman backup catcher, playing for three different teams in his five year major-league career. Most recently, he spent the entire 2019 season with the Royals' Class AAA team, slashing .234/.366/.442 with four home runs and 15 RBI over 93 plate appearances.
He has a career .221 batting average with seven home runs, 35 RBIs and 0.3 fWAR over 300 major-league plate appearances.
These four will join the Pirates other spring training invitees looking for a roster spot: right-handed pitchers Hector Noesi, Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar, Tom Koehler, Nick Mears, left-handed pitchers Miguel Del Pozo, Williams Jerez, Nik Turley, Blake Weiman, catchers John Ryan Murphy, Christian Kelley, Jason Delay and position players Jared Oliva, Socrates Brito, Phillip Evans and Jake Elmore.
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