59 Ryan Lavarnway C

Lavarnway cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

Lavarnway filled in capably when called on as an organizational depth option over the last two weeks, grabbing a pair of homers in five games. He'll remain in that role going forward, a job that probably suits him best as he owns a poor .211/.270/.343 slash line over parts of eight big-league seasons.

The Reds designated Lavarnway for assignment Sunday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lavarnway went 5-for-18 while appearing in five games during his abbreviated time with the Reds, with nearly all of his offensive production coming in a two-homer, six-RBI effort in his club debut July 19. Since fellow backstop Kyle Farmer (concussion) is healthy again and the Reds needed to open up a 40-man roster spot for their starting pitcher for Sunday's game against the Rockies (Alex Wood), Lavarnway was deemed an expendable piece.

Lavarnway is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies.

Lavarnway was originally slated to start behind the plate Friday, but Tucker Barnhart (oblique) will instead enter the lineup after being activated off the injured list. Lavarnway figures to see a reduced workload going forward.

Lavarnway went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI in Friday's 12-11 loss to the Cardinals.

Signed off the scrap heap the day before due to a rash of injuries at catcher for the Reds, Lavarnway tied his previous career high for homers in a big-league season in one night. The 31-year-old only had 19 plate appearances in the bigs over the prior two years and a career OPS of .593 coming into Friday, so expecting a repeat performance during his stint in Cincinnati -- or anything even close to it -- would probably be a fool's errand.

Lavarnway signed a major-league contract with the Reds on Thursday.

Lavarnway will provide the Reds with catching depth while Curt Casali (knee), Tucker Barnhart (oblique) and Kyle Farmer (concussion) all deal with injuries. The veteran backstop owns a career .208 average across parts of seven seasons, so it would be unwise to expect much from him during his time with the Reds. To make room for Lavarnway on the roster, Casali was sent to the injured list while Jesus Reyes was designated for assignment.

The Yankees released Lavarnway on Thursday, Donnie Collins of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

Lavarnway has spent the entire 2019 campaign with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .213 with three home runs across 129 plate appearances. The 31-year-old journeyman catcher lost his spot on the Triple-A roster after the Yankees signed reliever Dan Jennings to a minor-league contract.

Lavarnway was reassigned to minor-league camp Thursday.

Lavarnway hit a respectable .333/.400/.444 with a pair of doubles and six RBI in 11 spring games, but was never expected to supplant Austin Romine as the team's backup. He'll remain in the organization as catching depth.

Lavarnway signed a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to spring training with the Yankees on Thursday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Lavarnway was recently outrighted from Pittsburgh's 40-man roster and elected to become a free agent following just one season within the Pirates' organization. The 31-year-old will have a chance to earn a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster, though he will likely be facing an uphill battle, especially if the club retains the services of Austin Romine. Lavarnway has only played in 12 big-league games over the past three years, so look for him to remain at the Triple-A level in 2019.

Lavarnway was outrighted from the Pirates' 40-man roster and will become a free agent, Jerry DiPaola of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Lavarnway elected to hit the free-agent market instead of remaining in the Pirates' system after appearing in just six big-league games in 2018. He spent a majority of the year with Triple-A Indianapolis, slashing .288/.375/.485 with nine home runs and 33 RBI in 77 games. The 31-year-old will look to latch on as catching depth with a new organization.

Lavarnway had his contract purchased from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.

Lavarnway will provide addition catching depth for the Pirates as Elias Diaz continues to nurse a hamstring injury. The 31-year-old backstop owns a career .201/.262/.318 slash line across 140 big-league games.

Lavarnway was told Monday that he would not make the Pirates' Opening Day roster, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.

Lavarnway joined the Pirates as a non-roster invitee in January and battled for the backup catcher job, which was eventually won by Elias Diaz. The 30-year-old could remain with Pittsburgh as organizational depth. He's appeared in the majors in parts of six seasons, hitting .201/.262/.318 in 140 games.

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.

Lavarnway was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

Lavarnway, who was designated for assignment Saturday, cleared waivers and will return to Nashville, where he has spent most of the season. The backstop went 3-for-9 during this stint in the majors. He will try to make himself a candidate to return to the big-league squad when rosters expand in September.

Lavarnway was designated for assignment by the A's on Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Lavarnway lost his spot following the acquisition of Dustin Garneau from Colorado. The soon-to-be 30-year-old has hit just .201/.262/.318 in parts of six seasons at the highest level, so his status as a fringe major leaguer is well established at this point.

Lavarnway went 1-for-3 with a two-run double in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.

Just recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday, Lavarnway opened the scoring on the night for the Athletics with his fourth-inning two-bagger. The reserve backstop's current stint with the big-league club isn't expected to last beyond Josh Phegley's stay on the disabled list due to an oblique injury.

Lavarnway had his contracted selected from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Lavarnway was outrighted just a few weeks back, but chose to remain with the organization in hopes of another call-up down the road. That call came a bit sooner than expected, as he'll be brought up to take the roster spot of Josh Phegley (oblique), who was placed on the DL in a corresponding move. Look for Lavarnway to serve as the primary backup to Bruce Maxwell until Phegley returns.

The Athletics outrighted Lavarnway to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.

Lavarnway was designated for assignment Saturday and will remain with the organization as depth. The former prospect has compiled a .274/.362/.378 line with four home runs in 232 plate appearances for the Sounds this year and will be on call should Oakland need to replace either Bruce Maxwell or Josh Phegley.

Lavarnway was designated for assignment Saturday.

Lavarnway was called up to serve as the backup catcher while Josh Phegley was on paternity leave, but likely finds himself heading back to the minors after going 0-for-2 in his lone start Friday. Before his promotion, the 29-year-old backstop hit .274/.362/.378 for Triple-A Nashville, his probable destination if he clears waivers.

Lavarnway had his contract selected by the A's and was recalled Wednesday.

Josh Phegley is heading out on paternity leave for a few days, so Lavarnway will get a shot to serve as the backup catcher to Bruce Maxwell. The 29-year-old has been seeing plenty of opportunities with Triple-A Nashville this season, batting .274 with 20 RBI and a .740 OPS through 61 games, but hasn't played in the big leagues since a short stint with the Braves in 2015.

Lavarnway went 1-for-3 with two RBI in Team Israel's 8-3 loss to Japan in the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday.

Lavarnway's two-run double in the ninth inning helped the final score look more respectable, but Japan was already in control after breaking a scoreless tie with a five-run fifth inning. With Israel now eliminated from the tournament, Lavarnway will report back to the Athletics in the coming days as he looks to continue his bid for an Opening Day roster spot. It's more likely that he opens the campaign at Triple-A Nashville, however.