Durham, N.C. — The contract of Laredo Lemurs C Zane Chavez has been purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, the American Association announced on Thursday.
In his first season with Laredo, Chavez, 29, played in 70 games, tying for the club lead with 17 doubles to go along with a .260 average, six home runs and 38 RBI. The San Diego native appeared in 54 contests behind the plate and assembled a .998 fielding percentage.
Chavez joined the Lemurs after spending 2015 with the American Association’s Grand Prairie AirHogs, where he led the club with a .288 average and was second with 41 RBI. He had spent the two previous seasons in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization, reaching as high as Double-A.
Chavez also spent the 2009 through 2012 seasons in independent baseball, playing for Grand Prairie and El Paso of the American Association in 2011-2012, and three clubs in the Can-Am League in 2009-10. He played collegiately at Indiana State and at Lindenwood (Mo.) University.
Chavez is the seventh Laredo player to have his contract sold in 2016, following:
- RHP Ryan Beckman, Miami
- 3B Travis Denker, Arizona
- RHP Danny Reynolds, Atlanta
- RHP Matt Sergey, Oakland
- RHP Kamakani Usui, San Francisco
- RHP Kyle Winkler, Tampa Bay
