Dodgers sign former Yankee Ike Davis

In a move to shore up depth and protect against injury the Los Angeles Dodgers signed veteran first baseman Ike Davis to a minor league contract.

The 29 year old Davis a 6 year MLB veteran is best known for his playing days with the New York Mets.

While with the Mets Davis was an adept first baseman and hit a career high 32 home runs in 2012, but injuries and struggles at the plate have had Davis bounce between the minors and majors more recently.

Last year, Davis played with the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees organizations seeing mostly minor league play.

Davis will be a non-roster invitee to spring training which means if he impresses the Dodgers front office enough he may make the major league roster.

By signing Davis, the Dodgers will be adding depth to the roster.

Everyday first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will be turning 35 years old during the season.

Last year despite being second in games played Gonzalez had his worst home run total since 2006 with 18 and his 90 runs batted meant he shared the team lead for the first time since coming over in a 2012 trade.

A year ago, the Dodgers didn’t have true back up for Gonzalez at first base and had to use a hodge- podge of platoon players to fill in for Gonzalez when he needed a break.  Signing Davis provides the Dodgers a back up plan if Gonzalez begins to really show his age and it will also keep him fresh through out the season.

The Davis signing also means top prospect Cody Bellinger won’t likely be brought up right away barring an injury or some other extreme situation.

Bellinger another highly touted prospect the Dodgers have refused to trade is most likely a year away, Davis is cheap alternative to rushing Bellinger’s development.