Braves sign C Francisco Cervelli

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves today signed catcher Francisco Cervelli to a major league contract. He will wear No. 45 with Atlanta.

Cervelli, 33, appeared in 34 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, batting .193/.279/.248 over 109 at-bats. Cervelli had been with the Pirates since 2015 and was Pittsburgh’s Opening Day catcher in each of those seasons. He played in 450 games with the Pirates and had a .362 on-base percentage, a mark topped only by San Francisco’s Buster Posey (.368) among major league catchers in that time.

The 6-1, 210-pounder, who bats and throws right-handed, spent the first seven years of his major league career with the New York Yankees, including playing in 42 games for the 2009 World Series champions. Cervelli was traded to Pittsburgh on November 12, 2014 for LHP Justin Wilson.

A native of Valencia, Venezuela, Cervelli is a career .269 (583-for-2,171) hitter with 36 home runs and 261 RBI in 700 games.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred LHP Grant Dayton to the 60-day injured list. The club created 25-man space by optioning C Alex Jackson to Triple-A Gwinnett.