The Dodgers signed veteran utilityman Chris Owings to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Owings, an ACES client, has already arrived at Dodgers’ camp today, he adds.
Though he’s appeared in each of the past 11 MLB seasons, Owings is still just 32 years old and won’t turn 33 until mid-August. He suited up for 11 games with the Pirates in 2023 — his sixth MLB club — and appeared in 11 games. Owings went 4-for-25 (all singles) with a dozen strikeouts and no walks. He fared better with the Bucs’ Triple-A club, slashing .241/.349/.449 with 15 homers in 371 trips to the plate.
Owings is a career .239/.286/.364 hitter in 2489 MLB plate appearances. He’s played every position on the diamond other than catcher and first base, though the bulk of his career has been spent as a middle infielder.
Given the infield depth the Dodgers possess already, it seems like Owings will wind up being stashed as a depth piece in Triple-A (or perhaps catching on with another club later in spring). Los Angeles has Freddie Freeman at first base, Mookie Betts at second base, a returning Gavin Lux at shortstop and Max Muncy at the hot corner. Veterans Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas offer versatile options from the bench, and former top prospect Miguel Vargas remains on the 40-man roster as an option who’s likely ticketed for regular at-bats in Triple-A to begin the season.
The next Chris Taylor
“Appeared in each of the last 11 seasons”…8 yrs and 57 days of service time. With his fortitude, age and work ethic, he’ll likely reach the 10 yrs service time it takes to become fully vested.
I don’t see it happening. He has played 140 games in the past 5 years combined. The only way I could see it happening would be if he made the roster and then had a season ending injury where they would have to put him on the 60 day IL. Even then, it would be tough because he would still be almost a year shy. Regardless, 8 years of service time for someone with his skill set is pretty darn impressive.
How many minor league teams are the Dodgers going to operate this year anyway? It seems like they have signed 100 people to minor league deals over the past two months.
Well they do have 7 minor league affiliated teams, plus the big leagues, so that’s well over 200 players at any given time.
That makes perfect sense if you don’t count the 170 or so players that they already had under contract in their minor league system already.
They don’t have to keep them all hiflew.
Yes I know. My point is that the players should know also. Signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers right now when you KNOW they have 50 players too many is just silly.
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Gotta say, this feels like winning
Insert zZZzzz emoji here
Looks like there will not a Kike reunion. Too bad I’d rather him him than other Taylor or Rojas.
HS
2024 FG projections
Hernandez .8 WAR/600
Taylor 1.6 WAR/600
Over the past two seasons, Chris Taylor has been more valuable than Enrique Hernandez by almost any metric — even if Taylor’s contract isn’t the bargain it once appeared to be when signed. And Rojas provides elite defense at SS should Lux not work out there… something Hernandez is not capable of.
Is there a difference between “suited up for 11 games” and “appeared in 11 games”? Asking for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I’m guessing there were a few games when he put on his uniform but didn’t play.
He will pound the baseball in ST, make the team as a utility guy, hit .140 for the first month and be DFA’d by mid-April. Happens every year with this guy.
A penny for Miguel Vargas’ thoughts