White Sox: Andy LaRoche signs minor league contract

Mar 5, 2013; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman

(left) tags out Baltimore Orioles base runner

during the top of the third inning of a spring training game at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

There is a second LaRoche in the Chicago White Sox organization with the White Sox signing Andy LaRoche, the younger brother of designated hitter Adam LaRoche to a minor league contract.

LaRoche, who is 31 years old, plays second and third base. Baseball America wrote the following on Andy when they first reported the signing:

"“The 31-year-old third baseman has hit .258/.332/.412 with just 13 percent strikeouts in Triple-A play the past four seasons, during which time he has 108 big league plate appearances.”"

Andy didn’t play in the majors last season, as his last MLB appearance was with the Toronto Blue Jays in ’13, playing in one game with that franchise. Andy in that game was 0-for-4 with one strikeout.

Most of Andy’s MLB time has been with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing in 301 games in parts of three seasons with that franchise from 2008-10. Andy has a career .226 batting average in the majors (404 career games) and with the Oakland Athletics in ’11 (his last real stint in the majors) he batted .247 in 93 at-bats.

With the A’s in ’11 he did have five RBIs and six doubles, along with eight walks and 23 total hits.

Having Andy with the White Sox organization is good for the Triple-A club, because the White Sox aren’t looking for any second basemen/third basemen not named Carlos Sanchez or Micah Johnson, so having a veteran of Triple-A like Andy can only help make Charlotte improved if those players reach the majors this spring.

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Maybe Andy can compete with some of the younger talent in the minors in Triple-A, but he’s going to have a tough road ahead of him in Charlotte with the Knights as a second and third baseman. The White Sox already have prospects Matt Davidson at third in the minors, along with Johnson and Sanchez battling for the MLB second base starting job this spring. There is also Tim Anderson, but he might be in Double-A for most of this season.

Andy was originally a 39th round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, and debuted in the majors on May 6, 2007.

In his MiLB career, Andy has played parts of the past nine seasons in Triple-A including 60 games this past season with Buffalo. In those 60 games, Andy had a .248 average with a .309 on-base percentage.

Andy hit five home runs last season and collected 29 RBIs in 202 at-bats (224 plate appearances). Also with Andy, he hit 15 doubles and totaled 50 hits with 25 runs.