The Seattle Mariners have announced (via Twitter) catcher Chris Gimenez has declined his outright assignment to Triple-A and instead opted for free agency. The backstop was designated for assignment last week (along with Mike Wilson) in order to make room on the 40-man roster for newly signed relievers Shawn Camp and Hong-Chih Kuo.

A likely landing spot for Gimenez is the Pittsburgh Pirates, reports Greg Johns of MLB.com. Even though Gimenez has cleared waivers, he cannot sign until Thursday at the earliest.

The 29-year-old has hit .171/.279/.272 in 267 plate appearances spread out across three seasons at the major league level. He'll be looking to join his third different organization.

Twitter / @GregjohnsMLB: C Chris Gimenez, DFA'd last week by the #Mariners, has cleared waivers and become a free agent after declining to be outrighted to AAA.

Twitter / @GregJohnsMLB: Chris Gimenez can't sign until Thur., but sounds like could end up with #Pirates after declining outright to AAA by #Mariners.