Pirates sign catcher Luke Maile to one-year contract

The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed catcher Luke Maile (pronounced mail-ee) to a one-year contract for the 2020 season. The announcement was made by Pirates General Manager, Ben Cherington.

The 28-year-old Maile spent the entire 2019 season with Toronto, where he posted above average pitch framing and stolen base prevention marks, registering three defensive runs above average (DRS). Additionally, he threw out seven of the 25 runners (28 percent) attempting to steal against him in 44 games (41 starts) behind the plate.

Maile made his Major League debut in 2015 with Tampa Bay after being selected by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He played in a career-high 68 big league games in 2018 during his second season with the Blue Jays and also posted career highs in doubles (13) and RBI (27) while batting .248.

During the 2018 season, Maile recorded a 2.1 win season (Wins Above Replacement) according to FanGraphs, along with 8.2 runs above average attributed to pitch framing. He also threw out a career-high 13 runners attempting to steal against him in 66 games (58 starts), which ranked tied for 10th among all American League catchers.

Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster is now full.