O's add catching depth, acquire Andrew Susac via trade

The Orioles today added to their catching depth when they acquired Andrew Susac from the Brewers for a player to be named or cash considerations. Susac has been added to the club's 40-man roster, which is now at a full 40. He was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Jan. 30 to make room for right-hander Matt Albers.

Throw another player into the mix for the backup catcher's job in spring training.

"Susac is a (righty)-hitting catcher with over 100 games ML experience who adds depth and ML experience to the O's at the position," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said in a text message to reporters.

Susac, who will turn 28 on March 22, has played parts of the last four seasons in the majors for San Francisco and Milwaukee. He is a career .232/.299/.396 batter in 104 games and 274 plate appearances with 16 doubles, two triples, seven homers and 35 RBIs. He went 1-for-12 last year with the Brewers, batting .083. He has thrown out 25 percent of attempted basestealers.

He has hit well versus lefty pitching in the big leagues, batting .321 with a .950 OPS in 90 career plate appearances while batting .192 versus right-handed pitchers. He has 1.164 years worth of big league service time.

Susac was originally signed by San Francisco after the Giants selected him in the second round out of Oregon State in 2011. For his minor league career, he is batting .250/.349/.423.

He played mostly at Triple-A Colorado Springs last season and batted .213/.314/.421 with eight homers and 35 RBIs over 51 games. He threw out 34.6 percent of attempted basestealers. He also has one minor league option remaining.

The Orioles now have four catchers on their 40-man roster as Susac joins Caleb Joseph, Chance Sisco and Austin Wynns.