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The Atlanta Braves have signed infielder Ramiro Pena to a one-year, big-league contract, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Pena was non-tendered by the New York Yankees last month and will likely compete with the recently re-signed Paul Janish for the club's back-up infielder spot.
Pena spent a majority of 2012 with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .258/.325/.328 with two home runs in 101 games.
The 27-year-old switch-hitter spent parts of four seasons as a back-up infielder for the Yankees, hitting just .233/.266/.288 with two home runs in 180 games at third, second and shortstop for the Bronx Bombers. Pena dropped on the depth chart after his first two years with the club, appearing in just 26 big-league games the last two years.
Though still not great by any means, Pena has hit much better from the left side of the plate -- nearly 350 points of OPS higher -- in his career, so perhaps he can serve as a bench option to face righties.
The financial specifics of the deal are unknown at the moment, but Pena earned around the major-league minimum in his time in New York and there is no reason to believe the Braves will give him much more than that.
