Pittsburgh Pirates News: Socrates Brito Signs with a New Team

The Pittsburgh Pirates did not see many of their players become free agents this year.  However, one of their signings from last year is going elsewhere.

Last offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a series of veteran minor league signings.  This was in part to help with the team’s lack of depth but also due to a new regime moving players around.  One of the players that the Pittsburgh Pirates signed was outfielder Socrates Brito.  The Bucs signed Brito on December 17, 2019.

The 27-year-old outfielder was always viewed as a depth piece by many teams.  He was never given a real chance at the big league level, and in his career has slashed just .179/.216/.309.  This has been over 218 plate appearances since his debut in 2015.

Still, the Pittsburgh Pirates viewed Brito as a potential fifth outfield option for the team.  While he had struggled in his big league appearances, Brito has a career Triple-A slash line of  .297/.345/.491.  There was definitely some intrigue whether Brito had the potential to turn into a more legitimate bench option if given a bigger opportunity.

The Pittsburgh Pirates seemed prepared to give Brito that opportunity, but things did not go as planned.  Brito missed time after testing positive for COVID-19 in July.  Then he opted out in September after his brother passed away from COVID-19.

Since then, Brito has become a free agent.  He will not make a single plate appearance for the Pittsburgh Pirates as he has signed a new deal with a new team.  Brito has signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, as reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network:

Obviously, this is good news for Brito.  He had a really challenging year and it is good to see him find an opportunity. In terms of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I am a little surprised they did not try and retain him.  The team will likely be looking to add to the outfield depth in some fashion this offseason.