The San Diego Padres signed longtime veteran catcher Kevin Plawecki on a minor league deal, per the team's transaction log on MLB.com.
Plawecki, 32, has played for four MLB teams across his eight-year career.
Plawecki was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his debut a few years later in 2015, and remained there until the 2018 season.
In 2019, he was with Cleveland, and in 2020, 2021 and half of 2022, he was with the Boston Red Sox. He finished the 2022 season with the Texas Rangers, the last time he was seen in Major League Baseball.
Last year, Plawecki was with multiple Triple-A affiliates, including the Padres, Rangers and Washington Nationals.
In 447 career games at the MLB level, Plawecki is slashing .235/.313/.341 with 22 home runs and 137 runs batted in. He's spent his entire career as a backup catcher, and could fill that role again in San Diego next season.
In 67 games in Triple-A in 2023, Plawecki slashed .272/.349/.389 with four home runs and 29 runs batted in.
For now, Plawecki will hope to earn a spot on the big-league roster at some point next season. The Padres currently have three catchers on their 40-man roster — Luis Campusano, Kyle Higashioka and Brett Sullivan.
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