Pirates make huge splash; sign 36-year old catcher who hit .230 last year

By Finesse

Nothing gets the juices flowing in mid-November quite like the Pirates' annual foray into the bowels of free-agency.  Yesterday, the Bucs put the league on notice that absolutely nothing has changed by agreeing to a one-year deal with 36-year old catcher Rod Barajas, who is coming off a season in which he hit .230, only slightly below his career average of .238.  He did have 16 home runs in only 98 games, which is really impressive considering that would have tied him for second on the Pirates with Garret Jones, who only needed 148 games to reach the magical 16-homer mark.

We're almost positive this is Rod Barajas

If for some reason this signing does not excite you, maybe you'll feel better knowing just how much the Pirates and Barajas need each other.  As he told the Associated Press,

"They were aggressive.  They gave me the feeling they really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a good situation to be in."

Smart guy.  The Pirates did play well for four months.