The Oakland A’s have signed 27-year old righty swinging 3B Andy LaRoche to a minor league deal. He played in 102 games for the Pirates last season and he was 51 of 247 (.206 avg, .555 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base. LaRoche has now played in 363 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 244 of 1,087 (.224 avg, .641 OPS) with 123 runs scored, 22 homers, 108 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. LaRoche was once one of the most highly thought of prospects at 3B so maybe all he needs is a change of scenery to live up to his potential. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the A’s. They will give him a shot to win a job on the bench this spring.