Pirates Claim Catcher Tyler Heineman; DFA Andrew Knapp

The Pirates announced that they have claimed catcher Tyler Heineman off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays and have designated fellow backstop Andrew Knapp for assignment.

The 30-year-old Heineman appeared in 10 games for Toronto this season, collecting four hits (two doubles) in 15 at-bats. For his big league career, Heineman has played in 30 games and has posted a .221 batting average and a .607 OPS (71 wRC+) between the Blue Jays, Giants and Marlins. The 2012 8th-round draft pick has thrown out seven of 20 attempted base stealers (35%).

Heineman is just shy of 2,500 plate appearances for his minor league career, and has posted a .283/.362/.409 slash across 10 minor league seasons. A right-handed batter Heineman now gives the Pirates a more suitable platoon option to pair with Michael Perez.

The Pirates had signed Knapp to a one-year deal just before the start of the regular season. In 11 games with the Pirates, Knapp slumped to a .129/.229/.161 triple slash line with a pair of runs driven in.