Mariners sign catcher Ronny Paulino to Minor League deal
Paulino will be invited to Major League Spring Training
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today the club has signed catcher Ronny Paulino to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League spring training.
The Mariners have now invited 19 players to Major League Spring Training (see attached roster), including 11 pitchers (RHP – 9, LHP – 2), 4 catchers and 4 infielders. This is in addition to the current 40-man roster.
Mariners pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 12 (first workout Feb. 13) and position players report Feb. 15 (first full-squad workout Feb. 16).
Paulino, 31, split last season between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk. In 20 games with the Orioles he batted .254 (16x63) with 3 doubles and 5 RBI. Over parts of eight Major League seasons with the Pirates (2005-2008), Marlins (2009-10), Mets (2011) and Orioles (2012), Paulino has appeared in 573 games with a .272 batting average. Against left-handed pitchers he is a career .325 (196x604) hitter with a .844 OPS.
Defensively he has thrown out 29% of attempted base stealers (132 of 452) at the Major League level. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was originally signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on Dec. 29, 1997.
Paulino will wear jersey #27 when he reports for spring training.