Dodgers Continue to Add Catching Depth, Sign Minor Leaguer Ali Solis

The Dodgers continue to bolster their catching corps this offseason, and they have signed yet another backstop in order to add depth to their minor league system. Ali Solis signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers with an invite to Spring Training. With the abundance of pitchers working out at Camelback Ranch, extra catchers are always needed.

Solis is a 27-year old catcher born in Mexicali, and he was signed by the San Diego Padres in 2005 as an amateur free agent. He made his Major League debut for

Andrew Friedman adds another former Rays player to the Dodgers organization with catcher Ali Solis. Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

the Padres back in 2012, but he only appeared in 5 games. He was briefly with Pittsburgh when they claimed him off waivers in October of 2012, then he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013.

Andrew Friedman saw Solis play in 8 games for the Rays in 2014, but the defensively strong catcher has yet to collect his first Major League base hit. He struck out 6 times in 11 plate appearances in his two short stints at the Major League level.

Last season, Solis played in 73 games for Triple-A Durham where he hit .203/.231/.283 with 3 homeruns. While Solis is not exactly the next Mike Piazza when it comes to offense, he is a valuable defensive catcher. In Triple-A last season, he caught 30% of base runners, and he excels in pitch framing. Pitch framing has been a catching skill highly touted by the new Dodger front office executives, and it was one of the big reasons Yasmani Grandal was brought to L.A.

Solis is not a great hitting catcher, but his defensive skills will surely add a solid catcher to the organization who has lost four catchers so far during this whirlwind offseason which has included 12 trades thus far. Griff Erickson, Johnny Monell, Drew Butera and Tim Federowicz have all moved on this winter. The Dodgers in turn have picked up catchers Yasmani Grandal, Austin Barnes, Shawn Zarraga and Solis. They also briefly acquired Ryan Lavarnway from the Red Sox before the Cubs claimed him off waivers last week.

Just seven weeks ago I wrote about the Dodgers having little catching depth, but Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi have focused on revamping their collection of backstops in order to not only target that essential part of the roster but also bring on catchers who have strong pitch framing skills to go well with their new pitchers they have acquired.

Currently, Ali is playing in the Mexican Pacific League for the Tomateros de Culiacán.

Ironically, Ali Solis appeared in the All-Star Futures Game in 2012 as a replacement for Yasmani Grandal.