PITTSBURGH — Taiwanese left-hander Yao-Hsun Yang and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to big league spring training camp.

The Pirates announced the move Thursday.

Yang made nine appearances while pitching in Japan’s minor leagues last season. The 31-year-old Yang has a 5-5 record with 3.08 ERA in 38 appearances — 12 starts — in his career with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the Japanese Central League during parts of six seasons (2006, 2008-2010 and 2012).