Rangers add catching depth by claiming Schmidt

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers, who have made catching a top priority this winter, have claimed catcher Konrad Schmidt off waivers from the D-backs, giving the Rangers some badly-needed depth at Triple-A.

Schmidt has played in just eight Major League games over the past three years, going 1-for-15 with two RBIs. He spent most of this past season at Triple-A Reno, hitting .277 with 24 doubles, seven home runs and 47 RBIs in 93 games. He is currently playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

Schmidt was signed by the D-backs as an undrafted free agent in 2007 out of the University of Nevada. In '10, he played in 107 games for Double-A Mobile and hit .315 with 11 home runs and 65 RBIs. He hit .280 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs in 92 games at Reno in '11.

Mike Napoli and Geovany Soto finished the season as the Rangers' catchers. Napoli is a free agent and the club has to decide on Friday if it is going to tender him a qualifying offer of $13.3 million in order to receive Draft pick compensation if he signs with another team.