Cleveland Guardians sign OF Anthony Alford to minor-league deal

The Guardians have signed a former top prospect to provide some potential outfield depth moving forward.

Well wouldn’t you know it, the Cleveland Guardians went and signed themselves an outfielder.

Anthony Alford, who was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates this week and opted for free agency, has signed a minor-league contract with the Guardians and will report to Triple-A Columbus.

Alford, 27, is a former third-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays and was considered a top prospect for them at one point, but he just hasn’t been able to stick in the majors to this point. He’s certainly had to deal with a lot of injuries in his career, but he hasn’t been able to make too much of his admittedly small opportunities yet, either.

In 220 at-bats spread over six seasons in the majors, Alford has a .209/.275/.368 line with eight home runs, seven doubles, 20 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he’s also struck out nearly 38% of the time for his career.

Still, though, Alford is essentially a risk-free signing that provides outfield depth that could potentially help the Guardians over the course of the long season.