The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they have signed third baseman David Freese to a one-year contract worth $3M. Pitcher Jesse Biddle has been designated for assignment to make room for him on the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old Freese spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels, where he hit .257/.323/.420 in 121 games.
Freese took quite a pay cut to sign with the Pirates(he made $6.425M last year), but that's not unusual for someone signing this far into Spring Training. He will get the Opening Day nod for the Pirates at third base, which will allow the team to take a cautious approach with Jung-ho Kang's return.