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Phillies Sign Christian Bethancourt to Minor-League Deal

It appears Andrew Knapp will have some competition in spring training for the Philadelphia Phillies backup catcher position after all.

On Friday, the team inked five-year veteran Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal with an invitation to major-league camp, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Bethancourt, 28, made his big-league debut on September 29, 2013, against the Phillies while with the division rival Braves: a pinch-hit appearance in which he struck out. That would be his only game that season, before playing 160 games over the next four seasons with the Braves (2014-15) and San Diego Padres (2016-17).