Player News
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Olt announced his retirement from baseball Friday, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports. Once a well-regarded prospect, Olt's career didn't end up panning out as he would have hoped. He last played in the big leagues in 2015 and hit just .168/.250/.330 over 400 major-league plate appearances.
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Olt was released by the Twins on Saturday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports. Olt failed to win even a spot on the Twins' Triple-A roster. As a 30-year-old who hasn't played in the majors since 2015, Olt is unlikely to play a significant role anywhere this season.
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Olt signed a minor-league contract with the Twins on Sunday, according to his personal Instagram account. Olt spent the majority of the 2018 campaign with Triple-A Pawtucket, hitting .224/.357/.430 with 11 homers in 71 games. The 30-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2015 and owns a career .580 OPS across parts of three major-league seasons, so he's nothing more than organizational depth.
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Olt agreed to a minor-league deal with the Red Sox, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports. After spending all of 2017 with the Red Sox's Double-A affiliate, he returns to Boston's farm for another season. The 29-year-old hit .245/.332/.436 with 16 home runs in 448 plate appearances last season at Double-A and will simply provide organizational depth this season.
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Olt made his first appearance in Grapefruit League action Saturday, entering as a pinch-runner and playing first base. The Red Sox left no stone unturned when looking for insurance at third base in case Pablo Sandoval was not capable of returning to form. Olt joined a chorus of infielders that have experience at the hot corner. As it turns out, Sandoval has performed well and the talk of a potential platoon partner has been silenced. Olt, whose once-bright career stalled following a beaning during the 2012 offseason, has bounced from the Cubs to the White Sox to the Padres since 2014. He's expected to start 2017 in the minors, but without a sure thing backing up Sandoval at third base, the Red Sox could call on Olt at some point.