The Pirates signed free agent first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz today to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, General Manager Neal Huntington said.

Mientkiewicz , 33, spent most of the 2007 season with the New York Yankees, but missed 82 games after he broke his right wrist in June in a collision with Mike Lowell of the Red Sox.

He hit .277 (46-for-166) with 12 doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI in 72 games. He made just two errors in 507 total chances (48 starts) at first base.

Mientkiewicz (pronounced mint-KAY-vich) has a .271 batting average (814-for-3009) with 201 doubles, 64 home runs and 372 RBI in 942 games with Minnesota, Boston, the New York Mets, Kansas City and the New York Yankees.

After Mientkiewicz caught the final out that gave Boston the 2004 World Series title, he kept the ball and ended up in a dispute with the team over who owned it. A lawsuit was settled when the sides agreed that the ball would go to the Baseball Hall of Fame.