The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed outfielder Felix Pie to a minor league deal, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly reports that Pie has incentives for major league plate appearances in his contract if he makes the Pirates.
The outfielder was once one of the top prospects in the Chicago Cubs system, but hasn’t panned out in the majors. In 964 career at-bats he has a .249/.298/.374 line. The last time he played in the majors was in Baltimore in 2011, hitting for a .220 average and a .545 OPS. He spent the 2012 season in Triple-A with Atlanta, hitting for a .285 average and a .797 OPS in 333 at-bats.
It seems unlikely that Pie would make the majors out of Spring Training. The Pirates should have Starling Marte, Travis Snider, Jose Tabata, and Alex Presley for the final two outfield spots and two bench spots. Pie will most likely serve as depth in Triple-A.
