Minnesota Twins Sign Former A's Infielder

The Minnesota Twins haven't been terribly active this winter, even after an 82-80 season saw them finish in fourth place in the AL Central. Yet, they made one addition recently, bringing in former A's infielder Armando Alvarez on a minor-league deal. What kind of a role he'll have with the club is up for debate.

While signing Alvarez isn't a huge addition, it does help the Twins bring up their depth just a touch, with the 30-year-old hitting well across 75 games with the A's in Triple-A, batting .315 with a .407 OBP and 15 home runs. He also spent time all over the field, playing every position aside from pitcher, catcher, and centerfielder.

His most regular spot was at second base, followed closely by the hot corner. He made his MLB debut last season in Oakland, against the Twins in a pinch-hitting spot, and grounded out to the pitcher for the second out of the bottom of the ninth. Minnesota won the game easily, 10-2.

Alvarez would get his first big-league start a few days later on June 25 against the Los Angeles Angels, and went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI, which earned him more playing time to finish out the month of June. He would finish up by going 6-for-15 overall in June, good for a .400 average, along with two walks and a stolen base.

He'd get just 22 more at-bats the rest of the way, going back and forth between Oakland and Las Vegas, and went 3-for-22 in those sporadic appearances.

He logged the most innings for the A's at third base with 36 over there, but he also saw some time at first (29), second (8), and in left field (7). That versatility will give him a shot to earn another trip to the big leagues with Minnesota.

The tricky part will be finding a path to the 26-man roster. The most obvious answer would be if Royce Lewis goes down for any length of time, Alvarez could be an option to fill in. How that would work with Edouard Julien, Michael Helman, and Austin Martin on the roster and capable of playing multiple positions themselves would present a bit of an issue, but too much versatility is never a bad thing.

In his time with the A's, Alvarez hit .243 with a .282 OBP and a 62 wRC+ (100 is league average) in limited action. He's certainly someone that could catch lightning in a bottle for a short period and provide a spark to the club, but in terms of taking over a position full time, the Twins would likely look elsewhere to fill such a need.