Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training on Thursday with numerous new faces, including Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Although Spring Training is underway, the Dodgers continue to make moves to improve their roster. The club reportedly re-singed Ryan Brasier and Clayton Kershaw with both deals expected to become official shortly.
The Dodgers have also added to their infield depth by signing Chris Owings to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
The 32-year-old is a veteran of 11 MLB seasons with most of his time coming with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over his six years in Arizona, Owings was their primary shortstop and hit .250/.291/.378 with plus defense.
His last MLB appearance came in 2023 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he only appeared in 10 games overall and hit .160/.160/.160, which followed a 2022 season that was not much better with the Baltimore Orioles.
He has also spent time with the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox.
Over his career, Owings has appeared in 723 games, hitting .239/.286/.364 with 37 home runs, 220 RBI, 262 runs scored, 79 stolen bases, a .280 wOBA, 68 wRC+ and -0.7 WAR.
In addition to playing shortstop, he also has experience at second base, third base, and all three outfield spots. Owings also has three appearances on the mound with a 12.27 ERA (five runs in 3.2 innings).
What role will Chris Owings fill with the Dodgers?
Owings will likely open the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City and serve as a mentor to some of the younger players. He could eventually see time with the Dodgers in the case of an injury, but he is primarily organizational depth at shortstop.
If Owings does see time with the Dodgers in 2024, it would probably be related to their shortstop position with Miguel Rojas dealing with injury issues in the past and Gavin Lux returning from a significant knee injury.
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