The Pittsburgh Pirates are close to a deal with Brandon Inge, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
Brandon Inge is close to a deal with the Pirates. Minor-league deal with spring invite. http://t.co/33Mh7hg8
— Danny Knobler (@DannyKnobler) February 13, 2013
Inge would be coming in on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. He split time with Oakland and Detroit last year, combining for a .218/.275/.383 line in 303 at-bats. He’s never hit for average on a consistent basis, but he has shown some power throughout his career, including two seasons with 27 homers. Last year he had 12 homers. In his career he has been much better against left-handers (.791 OPS) than right-handers (.651 OPS). He’s also very versatile, playing second base, third base, all three outfield spots, and catching in his career. Most of his time has been spent at third, and he hasn’t caught since 2008.
Inge will probably compete for a utility spot off the bench, and seems more likely to serve as depth in Triple-A. He’s an interesting option for his platoon splits, since the Pirates don’t have many platoon guys who can hit left-handers. However, Gaby Sanchez is filling that role in the only platoon the team currently has.
