Pirates' Ryan Lavarnway: Joins Pittsburgh as non-roster invitee

Lavarnway agreed to a minor-league contract with the Pirates and will attend major-league spring training as a non-roster invitee, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The lack of a 40-man roster spot makes it highly unlikely that Lavarnway will break camp with the big club, even if he's a standout performer in the Grapefruit League. After Lavarnway slashed an unremarkable .239/.327/.341 across 304 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville in Oakland's system last season, Pittsburgh likely just views the 30-year-old as organizational catching depth.