Twins Sign Armando Alvarez To Minor League Deal

The Twins have signed infielder Armando Alvarez to a minor league deal, according to the transaction log on Alvarez’s MLB.com profile page. The deal presumably includes an invite to big league Spring Training next month.

Alvarez, 30, was a 17th-round pick by the Yankees back in 2016. He climbed the minor league ladder with the club and eventually reached the Triple-A level in 2019. Unfortunately for Alvarez, however, the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and a down season in 2021 led to him not making his big league debut in a Yankees uniform. Instead, he elected minor league free agency following the 2022 season and signed on with the Giants for the 2023 season. Playing for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, Alvarez took to the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League quite well as he slashed .308/.379/.581 with a wRC+ of 125 in 74 games. He once again failed to crack the club’s big league roster, however, and moved across the bay to Oakland ahead of the 2024 season.

With the Athletics, Alvarez raked at the Triple-A level to the tune of a .315/.407/.560 slash line in 75 games. That performance finally earned Alvarez his first taste of big league action at the age of 29, and he ultimately appeared in 16 games with the A’s throughout the season. The infielder struggled during his lone cup of coffee in the majors, hitting just .243/.282/.270 in 39 plate appearances while playing the infield corners, left field, and second base. That lackluster performance led the A’s to outright Alvarez off their roster back in October, allowing him to elect minor league free agency for a third consecutive offseason.

Now, Alvarez is headed to Minnesota to try and work his way into the Twins’ infield mix. Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, and Brooks Lee appear likely to get the lion’s share of playing time at shortstop, third base, and second base respectively when the roster is fully healthy. In theory, that should leave first base available for some combination of Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien, but the Twins have expressed interest in help at the position throughout the winter and as such appear to be open to other options. Alvarez is the second infielder the club has brought in on a minor league deal who could try to work his way into the big league first base mix, joining lefty slugger Mike Ford.

With less than 40 trips to the plate in the majors on his resume headed into his age-30 campaign, Alvarez may wind up outmatched by the Twins’ more established options in a camp battle for the first base job. Even if that comes to pass, however, he’ll still be a solid depth piece for the club given his ability to play multiple positions and his status as a career .280/.345/.492 hitter at the Triple-A level. The majority of Alvarez’s playing time in the minors has come at the hot corner, though he has plenty of first base experience as well and has made cameos at the keystone, the outfield corners, and even shortstop throughout his career. That versatility should come in handy for a Twins club that has a number of players who have struggled to remain healthy in recent years.