*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
Looking for minor league depth and someone who could play in the majors in a pinch, the Los Angeles Dodgers went to an Olympian. The Dodgers and IF Eddy Alvarez have agreed to a minor league contract for the 2022 season, according to an announcement made by Alvarez on his Instagram page.
Minor league deals are still permitted during the lockout, and the switch hitting Alvarez is a perfect example of a depth signing in case of multiple injuries at the big league level. He made his major league debut for the Miami Marlins in 2020, when they were wrecked by over 20 positive cases of Covid-19 early in the season.
Last season with the Marlins, Alvarez hit for a .188 batting average with a .625 OPS, hitting one home run with 6 RBI's, stealing one base in 24 games at the major league level. In 36 games split between 2020 and 2021, Alvarez has a .188 average with a .574 OPS, with one home run and 8 RBI's to go with 3 stolen bases.
However, Alvarez is not known for his major league experience, but rather for his Olympic talents. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, he won a silver medal for Team USA in Speedskating. After that experience, he resumed his baseball career by signing his first professional contract with the Chicago White Sox that season.
That previous Olympic experience led him back to the games in 2021. After he was DFA'd by the Marlins, he was eligible to play for Team USA's baseball squad at the Tokyo summer games this past summer. He helped Team USA win a silver medal in baseball, becoming the 3rd American and 6th person in the world to medal in both the summer and winter Olympics. Alvarez was also a flag bearer for the USA in the opening ceremonies.
Comments
Post a Comment