Pirates sign Marte, Nieve and Brown

The Pirates signed Andy Marte, Right-handed pitcher Fernando Nieve and catcher Dusty Brown to minor league deals on Wednesday.

Marte –who’s deal includes an invite to spring training– was ranked by Baseball America as one of the top 15 prospects from 2004-2006. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2005 for Edgar Renteria, then sent to the Cleveland Indians not long after. (Marte was out righted by the Indians in November).

Marte, 27, has not played more than 80 games in the majors in the past six seasons. He has a career .218 average with 20 home runs and 96 RBI. During 2010, the third/first baseman hit .229 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 170 at-bats.

Nieve, 28, will be competing for a spots in the Pirates bullpen. He went 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA through 42.0 innings with the New York Mets in 2010. Nieve was signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent in 1999.

Brown, 28, has spent the majority of the last three seasons catching in Triple-A. During 2010, he batted .218 with 19 doubles and seven homers. Brown threw out 27 percent of base stealers. He was drafted by the Red Sox in the 35^th round of the 2000 draft.