The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Tuesday that they signed outfielder Will Venable to a one-year contract.
An eight-year veteran, Venable began the year with the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Triple-A minor league affiliate before opting out of his contract last Friday.
The Dodgers optioned utility infielder and backup catcher Austin Barnes to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for Venable on the active roster.
Venable has spent most of his career in California, playing his first seven-plus years in the majors with the San Diego Padres.
The 33-year-old was originally seen as a player capable of racking up 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases per year. But he never lived up to those expectations, only hitting the 20-home run plateau once in 2013.
After 98 games in 2015 and with free agency looming, though, Venable was dealt to the Texas Rangers for minor leaguers. In 37 games in the American League, he recorded just 12 hits for a .182 batting average with no home runs and three RBI.
The Dodgers were in need of some added depth in the outfield with Yasiel Puig on the disabled list because of a hamstring injury and with the release of veteran Carl Crawford on Monday, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times.
In 30 games this season, Crawford batted .186 with just one stolen base. That’s hardly the kind of output the organization expects from a player it still owes $35 million through 2017, according to ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla.
Crawford’s departure also meant the Dodgers had one left-handed bat in the outfield in Joc Pederson and none coming off the bench, where Venable is expected to make his biggest impact in Los Angeles.
That’s because even with Puig out, Los Angeles could turn to the likes of Trayce Thompson and Scott Van Slyke to see time in the outfield alongside Pederson and Enrique Hernandez. Because of Venable’s left-handed bat, though, L.A. could use him as a pinch-hitting option late in games against right-handed relievers.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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