Yesterday afternoon it was reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Brandon Maurer. Maurer is being brought in as a potential low-risk high reward pitcher. That is one type of reason teams make minor league signings, in hopes to catch lightning in the bottle. This worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates a few years ago when they picked up Juan Nicasio.
However, when teams sign veterans to minor league deals it also can be to provide experienced depth at Triple-A for the major league roster. The Pittsburgh Pirates also made a deal like this yesterday as well.