According to Baseball America’s latest minor league transactions, the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed minor league catcher Erick Fernandez. He spent the 2013 season with the Nationals, splitting time between two levels in low-A. He was released by the Washington Nationals on July 22nd.
The offensive numbers for Fernandez aren’t strong, and he will be in A-ball next year at the age of 25. He looks like extra catching depth for the lower levels. Earlier in the week the Pirates also signed another lower level catcher. The team usually needs extra catchers for Spring Training, and there will be a bigger need for lower level catchers with the addition of a new team in Bristol.
You can check out Fernandez’s Pirates Prospects player page here.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
While I understand that this signing is probably just minor league fodder that is needed, I don’t understand why they didn’t sign Anderson De La Rosa instead who has played as high as AAA and has decent numbers as well for his minor league career.
Just seems to me that you should take the better player regardless, and who knows, lightening might strike for you.
Probably because they’re signing guys for the lower levels, and someone who has played in Triple-A wouldn’t be signing to play in short-season ball.