Adding a veteran catcher to pair with 22-year-old starter Mike Zunino, the Seattle Mariners agreed to a free agent deal with John Buck, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Tuesday.
Buck, 33, will get a one-year, $1 million contract, according to Heyman.
Last season, Buck played a combined 110 games with the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting .219 with a .285 on-base percentage and a .362 slugging percentage.
He posted career highs with 20 homers and 66 RBIs with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010, when he earned his only appearance in an All-Star Game.
In 10 major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Mets and Pirates, Buck is a career .234 hitter with a .301 on-base percentage, a .400 slugging percentage, 133 home runs and 485 RBIs in 1,058 games.
Buck might compete with Humberto Quintero for the backup catcher role in spring training. Quintero is a non-roster invitee to the Mariners’ spring camp.
Zunino, a rookie in 2013, started 21 of the Mariners’ last 26 games after coming off the disabled list. He wound up hitting .214 with a .290 on-base percentage, a .329 slugging percentage, five homers and 14 RBIs in 52 games. Zunino missed 34 games after undergoing surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand.