Tigers sign catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia

The Detroit Tigers made a small acquisition on Sunday, signing catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a one year deal at the major league minimum.

Salty, who arguably has the best last name in baseball, split time last year with the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks. Tigers GM Al Avila says that he will compete for the backup catcher role. The Marlins are paying him $8M from a a contract he signed a few years ago.

Salty has a career batting average of .240 with 98 homers and 398 RBI. He’s a switch hitting compliment to starter James McCann. The move is a good one all around. The Tigers want a veteran catcher who they can trust to hit the ball when needed. They may not feel Bryan Holiday can do that, so enter Jarrod Saltalamacchia.