The Chicago White Sox have signed former Tigers catcher Alex Avila to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, the team announced Wednesday.
The #WhiteSox have agreed to terms with catcher Alex Avila on a one-year deal. pic.twitter.com/AdRLMjHX3k
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 25, 2015
Avila, 28, played seven seasons in Detroit, hitting .242 with 66 home runs. He has battled concussion problems in recent years and was benched in 2015 while hitting .191 with four home runs and a .287 slugging percentage.
White Sox catchers, led by Tyler Flowers, hit .225/.290/.367 last year, posting the 19th best wRC+ at that position of any team, according to Fangraphs. Over two seasons as Chicago’s primary catcher, Flowers, 29, has hit .240/.296/.378 with 24 home runs. The left-handed-hitting Avila could platoon with righty Flowers in 2015.
Avila made the All-Star Game and finished 12th in AL MVP voting in 2011, when he batted .295 with 19 home runs and an .895 OPS, but according to OPS+ has not been better than league average at the plate since.
