The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they have signed four players to minor league deals with Spring Training invites. The group includes the previously reported Hector Noesi, as well as outfielder Socrates Brito, pitcher Miguel Del Pozo and infielder Phillip Evans.
Brito has played parts of four seasons in the majors, including the last two with the Toronto Blue Jays, so the current front office knows him well. He’s 27 years old, and has a .179/.216/.309 slash line in 99 MLB games. He was 3-for-39 in 17 games in 2019. Brito had an .838 OPS in 97 games with Triple-A Buffalo in 2019. He has seen significant time at all three outfield spots since signing as amateur free agent in 2010.
The 27-year-old Del Pozo is a lefty who made his big league debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. He struggled in 17 appearances, posting a 10.61 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP in 9.1 innings. He had a 5.18 ERA in 45.2 innings in Triple-A last year, though those numbers come from the Pacific Coast League with the Major League baseballs this season, so that ERA was actually better than league average. In 332 career minor league innings, he has 384 strikeouts.
Phillip Evans has played parts of two seasons in the majors, though he spent all of 2019 in the minors, hitting .283/.371/.470 in 130 games for Iowa, which is also in the Pacific Coast League. The 27-year-old has received regular playing time at second base, shortstop and third base at different points during his minor league career. He has a .606 OPS in 34 big league games split over the 2017-18 seasons with the New York Mets.
