(Brian Blanco/Getty Images North America)

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the New York Mets have signed catcher Rene Rivera to a minor league deal. He had been released by the Tampa Bay Rays on March 30, and will report to Triple-A Las Vegas, per Maria Guardado of the Star-Ledger.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rivera has hit .211/.258/.331 with 20 home runs and 92 RBI across seven big league seasons.

Rivera, 32, will begin his second stint in the Mets organization. Originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round in 2001, he made his major league debut in September of 2004. He would eventually sign with the Mets before the 2009 season and spend the entire year with Triple-A Buffalo. In 239 at-bats, he hit .234 with nine home runs and 30 runs batted in.

In 2014 with the San Diego Padres, Rivera saw his most productive year in the major leagues. That season, he set career highs with 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in. Additionally, he finished seventh in the league with a 36.26% caught stealing percentage, and was worth 3.5 wins above replacement. For his career, Rivera has thrown out 38% of those attempting to steal.

The Mets had reportedly shown interest in signing another catcher to serve as Travis d’Arnaud‘s backup, when Kevin Plawecki was at risk of starting the 2016 season in Triple-A. With Johnny Monell as the only alternative, the team opted to keep Plawecki on the Opening Day roster, thus squashing any chance of bringing in another backstop. The Las Vegas roster appeared to be set with Monell and Nevin Ashley listed as the catchers when Rivera was signed on Tuesday.