Red Sox Sign Andy LaRoche

The Boston Red Sox have signed free agent third baseman Andy LaRoche, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

One of players in Manny trade, Andy LaRoche, now with PawSox having been released by Columbus

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) June 28, 2012

LaRoche has been assigned to the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate. The 28-year-old was recently released from the Cleveland Indian’s Triple-A squad.

LaRoche was considered one of the top prospects in baseball all the way through the beginning of the 2008 season. Unfortunately for LaRoche, he’s been unable to put it together at the major league level. Over parts of five seasons in the bigs, he’s only managed a career line of .226/.305/.337.

LaRoche last appeared in the majors last season as a member of the Oakland Athletics. Over his 40 games and 93 at-bats, LaRoche hit at a clip of .247/.320/.333.

After signing a free agent deal with the Indians this December, LaRoche went on to maintain a line of .234/.331/.372 with 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs over his 145 at-bats with their Triple-A affiliate.