A's sign former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect in interesting addition

Jason Burke | 2 Hours Ago

Mar 2, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Drew Avans against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

According to his player page, the Athletics have signed former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Drew Avans to a minor-league contract for the 2025 campaign.

Avans, 28, was originally selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Southeastern Louisiana, and has been playing in Triple-A since 2021. He's also spent the majority of his time in the field in recent seasons manning centerfield, while also patrolling right field on occasion.

Given that the A's Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, were rolling out Seth Brown, Ryan Noda, Nick Allen, and second baseman Cooper Bowman in center at times, this seems like a nice fit for the depth of the franchise.

The new addition matched his career minor league numbers this past season, batting .272 (career .273 hitter) with a .366 OBP (.367), eight homers, 52 RBI, and 35 stolen bases in 41 attempts. One flaw to his game has been his strikeout rate, which stood at 25.1% in his fourth season in the Pacific Coast League. While it's not extremely high, it's a bit high for the amount of power he's shown throughout his pro career.

On the bright side, he has drawn double-digit walk rates each of the past four years, typically hovering the 12-13% range. In 2024 that percentage was 12.8, which is fantastic. His wRC+ in the PCL was slightly below league average at 96 (100 is league average), but given that he's a depth option, that's not the worst thing. Plus, joining a new organization should present new opportunities for him, which could provide some extra motivation.

Avans is a left-handed swinger, like the A's big-league centerfielder JJ Bleday, so his addition makes sense as a backup option just in case. Seth Brown is also a left-hander, so Avans could be available to fill Brown's role on the team if an injury crops up, or the veteran is traded at some point. That is, in the near-term.

Presumably, the A's will give Denzel Clarke a look in Vegas either to start the year, or fairly early on, and he has also spent the majority of his time playing center, though he swings it from the right side. The A's will give Clarke some time to work through Triple-A before promoting him to the bigs, so that would mean that Avans' best shot to make it to Sacramento would be early on in the year.

This is the second Rule 5 eligible signing that the A's have made prior to the Draft, with the other being reliever Tanner Dodson, who had also spent the past few seasons in the Dodgers' system. Both Avans and Dodson were with Oklahoma City the past two years. Now they are together in the A's system, and each has a renewed shot at making it to The Show.