The Braves sign A.J. Pierzynski to one-year deal

The Braves' offseason of two steps backward, two more steps backwards continues.

Today, the team came to an agreement with catcher A.J. Pierzynski on a one-year deal. The monetary terms were not disclosed. The deal was first officially reported by MLB.com's Mark Bowman, who may have been scooped by someone in a ham store.

Pierzynski, who has played for six different teams during his career and turns 38 in less than a week, comes off a poor 2014 in which he slashed .251/.288/.377 in 362 plate appearances for the Red Sox and Cardinals. Pierzynski was ineffective against right-handed pitching (.269/.309/.367, 87 wRC+) and below replacement level against lefties (.204/.232.,258, 31 wRC+) The catcher's defense was also not up to snuff, as he graded out very poorly in terms of pitch framing.

The questionable decision to sign Pierzynski is compounded by the fact that it "allows" the Braves to make Evan Gattis, a DH-level fielder, an everyday left fielder.

It's hard to understand what the Braves, a rebuilding team, see in Pierzynski, a catcher who at this point may not even be an upgrade offensively over their own catching prospect, Cristian Bethancourt.