Steven

Baron

Baron was added to the club’s 60-man player pool. He will report to the alternate site at Lake County.

The transaction removes the 28-year-old backstop from the team’s 40-man roster. Baron has only seen 26 plate appearances at the big league level in his career, slashing .115/.115/.154 with a 10/0 K/BB ratio. He’ll continue to function as organizational catchin depth for the Pirates.

Baron doubled into the left field corner to put the Pirates ahead in the second inning. He didn’t have much time to enjoy his accomplishment, though, as he was quickly hit by an errant throw from Reds right-hander Lucas Sims. The Pirates should provide an update on his status prior to Sunday’s season finale. Baron, 28, hit just .180/.264/.248 over 45 games in Triple-A this year and was primarily called up to serve as a depth option this month.

Baron will serve as an emergency third catcher for the Pirates down the stretch. The 28-year-old backstop is 1-for-16 in six career games at the major league level.

The Pirates are beginning to trim down their roster to the final 25. Baron is probably fourth on the team’s depth chart at catcher, behind Francisco Cervelli, Jacob Stallings, and the currently-sidelined Elias Diaz.

The non-roster invitee had run-scoring singles in the third and fourth innings to contribute to the Pirates’ early lead. He isn’t going to make the Opening Day roster, but could see time with the big league club during the regular season should injury strike.

Baron, 28, has appeared in just six career games at the major league level and stands 1-for-16 with zero walks and four strikeouts. He’ll function as organizational depth at catcher for the Pirates in 2019.

They released him earlier this month, but the Mariners have decided they’d like to keep Baron around. Baron hit .280/.377/.358 with three homers at Double-A in 2016.

Baron was designated for assignment last week and passed through waivers unclaimed. While he received a four-game cup of coffee with the M’s in 2015, the 25-year-old backstop did not receive an opportunity with the big league club this past season. Honing his craft at Double-A for most of 2016 (he saw one Triple-A game), Baron slashed .280/.377/.358 with three homers and 22 RBI in 66 games at the lower level.

The move clears a spot for the newly-claimed Ryan Weber on the 40-man roster. The 25-year-old Baron appeared in four games with the Mariners in 2015, but he played almost exclusively with Double-A Jackson this past season while batting .280/.377/.358 with three homers and 22 RBI over 66 games.