According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals signed 33-year-old catcher Omir Santos to a minor-league deal Monday. The deal does not include an invitation to major league Spring Training.
The #Nats signed Omir Santos to a Minor League deal. No Major League invite. #Nationals #MLB #catchingdepth
— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) December 29, 2014
Originally drafted by the Yankees in 2001, Santos has spent most of his 14-year career in the minors. He’s played in 122 big league games in his career, hitting .248 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs over five seasons with the Orioles, Mets, Tigers and Indians.
Santos’s best season came with the Mets in 2006, when he hit .260 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs and 22 extra-base hits in 96 big league games.
Santos spent the entire 2014 season with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. In just 11 games with the Indians, Santos posted a .200 batting average with three extra-base hits and three walks.
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By signing Santos, the Nationals add depth at a position that desperately needed it. Wilson Ramos‘s health is always questionable for the Nationals and the team needs someone behind Jose Lobaton and Sandy Leon who can step in if something were to happen to the other catchers. Jhonatan Solano has been that guy in recent years, but the Nationals released him earlier this offseason.
Since Santos’s reported deal does not include an invitation to major league spring training, he will likely spend the 2015 season with Triple-A Syracuse.