Dodgers Free Agent Signs With Athletics for 2025 Season

The Athletics have poached a Dodgers free agent outfielder. Drew Avans, who has spent his entire career in the Dodgers organization, has signed a minor league deal with the Athletics, per the MLB.com transaction log.

Avans was drafted by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He worked his way up through the minor leagues, and got to Triple-A in 2021, where he spent the last four seasons.

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Avans hit .272 with eight home runs, 52 RBIs, and an OPS of .762 across 133 Triple-A games this season. He also stole 35 bases, and was caught stealing just six times.

Over the last four seasons, Avans has appeared in 471 Triple-A games with the Dodgers. The 28-year-old has slashed .270/.369/.404 with 31 home runs, 190 RBIs, and an OPS of .774 in his Triple-A career. He has 117 stolen bases over the last four years.

Avans will now head to the Athletics, a team that will be playing in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento for the next three seasons. Avans is yet to make his MLB debut, so if he does with the Athletics this season, he could theoretically make his MLB debut in a minor league stadium.

The Athletics are expected to have trouble reeling in free agents for the next few seasons due to their lack of stability. Last month, A’s manager Mark Kotsay even admitted the team wanted to sign Dodgers free agent Walker Buehler in free agency, but the two-time World Series champion didn’t want to play in Sacramento.

The Athletics will have to be creative in finding ways to upgrade for the next few years, and they’re taking a chance on Avans. On a young Athletics team with not very many expectations, he should get an opportunity to compete for a roster spot.

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