LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - The Gwinnett Braves, in conjunction with the Atlanta Braves, announced today the addition of catcher Ryan Lavarnway to the team's 25-man roster. Atlanta signed Lavarnway to a minor league contract.

Lavarnway takes the place of catcher Jose Yepez, who was placed on the Gwinnett disabled list retroactive to May 29 with a right shin contusion. Yepez batted .115 (3-for-26) with four RBIs in 12 games with the G-Braves this year.

The 27-year-old Lavarnway opened the season with the Baltimore Orioles, batting .107 (3-for-28) with a double and a run scored in 10 games. The Orioles designated him for assignment on May 26, and after he cleared waivers, he elected to become a free agent.

Originally selected by Boston in the sixth round of the 2008 June draft out of Yale University (New Haven, CT), Lavarnway is a career .192 hitter (59-for-307) with 18 doubles, five home runs and 34 RBIs in 333 Major League games across five seasons with the Red Sox (2011-14) and Orioles (2015). After batting .201 (56-for-279) with 17 doubles, five home runs and 34 RBIs in 97 career games with Boston, he was claimed off waivers three times last winter, on December 5 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, on December 19 by the Chicago Cubs and on December 23 by Baltimore.

Lavarnway has a .283 batting average (595-for-2,106) in 570 career minor league games, including 133 doubles, two triples, 92 home runs, 336 runs scored, 382 RBIs and four stolen bases. He combined to bat .290 with a career-high 32 homers and 93 RBIs in the Boston system in 2011 and was named the Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

He played at four levels in the Boston system in 2014 but spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Pawtucket, batting .283 with 10 doubles, three homers, 22 runs scored and 20 RBIs. He also went hitless in nine games with the Red Sox.

With the transactions, Gwinnett's active roster stands at 25 players.

The Gwinnett Braves play the middle game of a three-game series against the Columbus Clippers at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Coolray Field. Right-hander Matt Wisler (2-3, 4.21 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season for the G-Braves. Left-hander T.J. House (0-1, 2.70 ERA) will get the call for the Clippers. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The G-Braves will wear special Spider-Man jerseys as part of "Superhero Night." All game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off during the game, with bids accepted until 9 p.m. The auction is presented by Gwinnett Medical Center. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.