ARLINGTON -- The Rangers added more catching depth for Spring Training by signing Brett Hayes to a Minor League contract on Wednesday.
Hayes will be in big league camp to help with the workload while Jonathan Lucroy and Robinson Chirinos are playing in the World Baseball Classic. The Rangers have catcher Brett Nicholas on the 40-man roster, with backstops Patrick Cantwell, Steven Lerud and Jose Trevino as non-roster invitees.
Hayes is a seven-year veteran with the Marlins (2009-12), Royals (2013-14) and Indians (2015). He is a career .205 hitter with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs in 189 Major League games.
He split last season at Triple-A Reno in the D-backs' organization and Triple-A Charlotte in the White Sox organization before having his season come to an end in late June because of an elbow injury. Hayes was a second-round Draft pick in 2005 by the Marlins out of the University of Nevada.