Nats sign Shoppach to Minor League deal
Ninth-year catcher has three homers and nine RBIs on the season
The Nationals added some catching depth on Wednesday, signing veteran Kelly Shoppach to a Minor League deal and assigning him to Triple-A Syracuse.
The 33-year-old had been designated for assignment by the Mariners and then was released on June 20. He caught 35 games for Seattle this season -- starting 32 -- and hit .196 with a .293 on-base percentage and a .346 slugging percentage over 125 plate appearances. He hit three home runs, drove in nine and struck out 45 times.
Shoppach also has played for the Red Sox, Indians, Rays and Mets over nine big league seasons, hitting .224/.312/.413 with 70 home runs.
The Nationals have Kurt Suzuki as their primary catcher and Jhonatan Solano as their backup. Wilson Ramos has been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury since May 16. Ramos has been doing a Minor League rehab assignment and could return to the team on Thursday, likely bumping Solano back to Syracuse.