Luke Maile gets $900,000 salary in majors from Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) >> Catcher Luke Maile and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year contract that includes salaries of $900,000 while in the major leagues and $325,000 while in the minors.

The Pirates made the announcement on Monday. They are in need of help at catcher after declining the option on Elias Diaz. Maile is considered an above average defensive catcher but has struggled at the plate throughout his career. The fiveyear veteran is a .198 hitter and has 10 home runs and 60 RBIs in 215 games.

Maile made his major league debut with Tampa Bay in 2015. He spent the last three years with the Toronto Blue Jays. He played in a career-high 68 big league games in 2018 and posted career highs in doubles (13) and RBIs (27) while batting .248. He hit just .151 in 44 games for Toronto in 2019.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (AP) >> The opening of the new ballpark for the Texas Rangers isn’t expected to be delayed after a fire that damaged about 2,000 square feet near the roof, construction officials said Monday.

The fire Saturday started when sparks from welding work ignited combustible materials being stored in a sub-roof area on one of the upper floors at Globe Life Field, fire officials said.

The first game at the new stadium is set for March 23, an exhibition against St. Louis. The first regular season game is March 31 against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Rangers spent 26 seasons at Globe Life Park, across the street from the site of the new $1.2 billion retractable-roof stadium.