Nationals Sign Kevin Plawecki To Minor League Deal

The Nationals signed veteran catcher Kevin Plawecki to a minor league deal, per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. Plawecki, 32, spent camp with the Pirates but was released when he failed to make the Opening Day roster.

Plawecki is coming off a 2022 season in which he hit .220/.286/.286 with eight doubles in 186 plate appearances for the Red Sox and Rangers. That a bit south of his career line of .235/.313/.341 amassed over eight big league campaigns. He was generally regarded as a decent defensive-minded backup earlier in his career, but his framing and blocking numbers have declined a bit in recent years and sit more around the league average these days.

The Nats have Keibert Ruiz as their long-term catcher in the big leagues with Riley Adams backing him up. There’s no indication yet that the Nationals are planning to alter that catching duo, but should they look to move Plawecki on to the big league roster he’s known as a strong clubhouse presence and provide a useful veteran presence on a rebuilding Nationals team.