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ThomasTomasz
Guest
The Texas Rangers have agreed to sign free-agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, according to CBSSports.com's Scott Miller. The deal is pending a physical and terms aren't immediately available, though multiple reports indicate it's a one-year deal.
Pierzynski, 35, hit .278/.326/.501 with 27 homers, 77 RBI and 68 runs last season in 135 games for the White Sox. The 27-homer season appears an outlier, however, as Pierzynski hit only 17 homers combined in 2010-11 and his previous career high in single-season home runs was 18, back in 2005.
It's also true that US Cellular Field is a homer-friendly ballpark, as it ranked fourth in homers last season and Pierzynski hit 18 of his home runs at The Cell, but so is Rangers Ballpark. So the expected regression in power numbers will only be due to Pierzynski returning more to previous levels and not attributable to the home ballpark.
Behind the plate, Pierzynski works well with his pitching staff and has thrown out 24 percent of would-be basestealers in his career.
Pierzynski will slide in as the Rangers' everyday catcher while Geovany Soto will serve as the primary backup.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/e...to-signing-aj-pierzynski-to-one-year-contract