Olt was once considered one of the game’s thirty or so best prospects, but never quite panned out. Eyesight issues likely played a significant role in preventing Olt from reaching his ceiling.

After coming up through the Rangers system, and briefly cracking the bigs in 2012, Olt was shipped to the Cubs as part of the 2013 Matt Garza trade. He ended up taking four hundred MLB plate appearances over three seasons, slashing just .168/.250/.330.

Olt has tried to push his way back into the majors over the past four seasons but failed to gain traction. He appeared briefly in 2019 in the Atlantic League and Mexican League. MLBTR wishes Olt all the best in the future.

In fact, the 30-year-old Olt is coming off the third straight season in which he failed to appear at the game’s highest level, having spent all of 2016 in the Padres’ minor league system and both ’17 and ’18 in the high minors with the Red Sox. Before that, he received MLB time with the Rangers and both Chicago teams from 2012-15, during which he batted just .168/.250/.330 in 400 plate appearances.

Olt’s subpar major league performance has been all the more disappointing given that he was a first-round pick of the Rangers in 2010 and a former top-50 prospect, though unfortunate vision problems seemingly changed his career trajectory. To Olt’s credit, he has performed well at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed .254/.355/.464 with 115 home runs in 2,765 PAs. He went to the plate 279 times with Boston’s top affiliate in 2018 and hit .224/.357/.430 with 11 homers.

• The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with Mike Olt, says Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. A former top prospect, Olt was once part of a package sent from the Rangers to the Cubs in exchange for Matt Garza prior to the 2013 trade deadline. The third baseman has never able to make an impression in the major leagues, however. In all of his MLB stints, Olt has played at half a win below replacement level or worse. He owns a lifetime .168/.250/.330 batting line across 400 career plate appearances with the Cubs, Rangers and White Sox, and has whiffed in an astonishing 37% of his plate appearances. He does carry some pedigree, however, and Boston will hope he can show some of the defensive skills and power ability that prompted Baseball America to rank him within their top 50 prospects in both 2011 and 2012.

9:21am: The Red Sox have signed corner infielder Mike Olt, who announced the news on Instagram (h/t Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). It’s presumably a minor league deal for Olt, who didn’t crack the majors in 2016 after inking a minors pact with the Padres last March.

The 28-year-old Olt went to the Rangers in the first round of the 2010 draft and eventually topped out as Baseball America’s 22nd-best prospect after the 2012 campaign. The Rangers then sent Olt to the Cubs the next season in a trade centering on right-hander Matt Garza, but he failed to live up to his considerable promise in Chicago. In 2014, the only season in which Olt has seen extensive major league action, he batted .160/.248/.356 and struck out in 38.8 percent of his 258 plate appearances. All told, Olt has slashed .168/.250/.330 in a combined 400 PAs with the Rangers, Cubs and White Sox. He has been more successful, albeit not great, at the Triple-A level, having posted a .234/.318/.429 line in 774 PAs.

Primarily a third baseman, the Connecticut-born Olt, an ex-UConn star, will now return to his native New England and attempt to stick with the Red Sox organization. Boston does have questions at the hot corner, where Pablo Sandoval is aiming to bounce back from a horrid 2015 and a lost 2016. Brock Holt and Josh Rutledge are on hand as major league depth, while another of BA’s former top 100 prospects, Matt Dominguez, is in the minors.

Olt’s deal with the Padres will reunite him with general manager A.J. Preller, who was an assistant GM with the Rangers when Olt was one of the game’s top-ranked prospect as a member of the Rangers organization. The former No. 49 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Olt’s big-time right-handed power quickly landed him among the game’s Top 30 prospects in the eyes of MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. The UConn product’s best season in the minors came in 2012, when he slashed .288/.398/.579 with 28 homers at the Double-A level.

Olt has never hit much in the Majors, amassing just a .168/.250/.330 batting line with a jarring 37 percent strikeout rate. Contact has long been an issue for the slugger, who split the 2015 campaign between the Cubs and White Sox but was released by the latter earlier this week. Olt missed considerable time last season with a fractured wrist suffered early in the year upon being hit by a pitch. He’ll give the Padres some depth at the infield corners, with third base being a particularly thin area for the organization.

MARCH 7: Olt has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com tweets. He’ll remain in major league camp with Chicago.

MARCH 6: The White Sox have designated third baseman Mike Olt for assignment, the team has announced (via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, on Twitter). His roster spot was needed for the signing of Austin Jackson, which has been made official.

Olt, 27, was once a top prospect in the Rangers organization, but he’s dealt with vision issues and has not yet been able to translate his robust minor league offensive production to the major league level. Over 400 career MLB plate appearances, Olt has slashed just .168/.250/.330 with a 37% strikeout rate, though he has hit 16 home runs in that span.

Chicago gave the right-handed-hitting Olt a look down the stretch last year, but went on to acquire Todd Frazier to fulfill the team’s needs at the hot corner. Jose Abreu, of course, remains entrenched at first.

The right-handed-hitting Olt obviously was not seen as an essential part of the team’s prospective reserve corps, though he could still be retained if he clears waivers. With Jackson joining the roster, the club has a variety of options to fulfill bench bat/DH duties. Switch-hitter Melky Cabrera ought to receive regular turns at bat, regardless of whether he’s in the field, while Avisail Garcia and recent claimee Jerry Sands also could be deployed against opposing southpaws.

A few more notes from the game’s Central divisions…

• The Cubs project to see an attendance increase of roughly 275,000 fans over their 2014 number, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. That significant spike in fans — due largely to the team’s much-improved on-field results — could result in a substantial payroll increase. As Wittenmyer notes, conservative estimates peg the attendance increase at an extra $20.6MM in revenue, and while perhaps not all of that money will go directly into payroll, the boost could be enough for the Cubs to make a serious run at elite free agents such as David Price and Zack Greinke.
• Former Cubs farmhand Mike Olt, now with the White Sox after being claimed off waivers, will see plenty of playing time down the stretch, writes Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. “He’ll probably get the majority of that time as we go through the rest of September, depending on matchups and things like that,” manager Robin Ventura tells Hayes. “We’ll be able to mix and match with him in there, but I would say he would get the majority of it.” Hayes notes that the ChiSox lack a definitive answer at third base in 2016 and will as such give Olt a chance to prove that he’s worthy of that distinction. Formerly a Top 50 prospect in his days with the Rangers, Olt has a lifetime .263/.361/.486 batting line in the minors. He’s battled vision problems and other injuries in the past and has always been strikeout prone, however, all of which have contributed to considerable struggles in the Major Leagues.
• The White Sox have seen rapid improvement in former No. 3 overall pick Carlos Rodon, writes ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla. Ventura tells Padilla that Rodon had a hard time accepting some of the struggles he had early in the season, but he’s come away better off for it. “He took the not-pitching-well part tough, and I think he also was able to put it behind him and come back,” said Ventura. “I think deep down, it’s something he just has. That’s something he can hold onto and know that he can overcome things. When you have that, there’s something you have that nobody can take away from you.” Rodon has a 3.94 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent ground-ball rate in 125 2/3 innings this season, but he’s been much better of late. In his past six starts he has a 1.76 ERA with a 41-to-15 K/BB ratio and a 52 percent ground-ball rate in 41 innings. Rodon told Padilla that he’s enjoying the grind of a 162-game season, and Padilla notes that the talented rookie should finish with more than 150 innings between the Majors and minors this season.

With Kris Bryant at third base, Anthony Rizzo at first and plenty of young talent elsewhere, it appeared unlikely Olt would get many more chances with the Cubs. Now 27, he’ll attempt to revive his career with the Cubs’ crosstown rivals. The White Sox should be able to provide more opportunities at third base — the team currently has Tyler Saladino and Gordon Beckham at third, neither of whom have hit well this year.

Olt, 27, has never regained his trajectory after topping out as a prospect that rated as high as 22nd on league-wide rankings. In the midst of a disappointing 2013 season, he was dealt to Chicago as part of a package deal that sent righty Matt Garza to the Rangers. Vision issues were noted as a cause for concern at the time, and Olt has dealt with a right wrist fracture more recently.

Last season represented Olt’s first real opportunity at the big league level, in spite of that rough 2013, but he did not make the most of it. Over 258 plate appearances, Olt swatted 12 home runs but slashed just .160/.248/.356 while striking out an even 100 times.

He cracked the Opening Day roster as Chicago’s starting third baseman, but that run was short-lived. Olt suffered the aforementioned wrist injury and was ultimately replaced, as had been expected anyway, by Kris Bryant — after the team was assured of keeping another year of future control.

Nevertheless, another team will likely be glad to take a shot on Olt’s upside. He’s always been regarded as a potentially solid defender at third base and has shown plenty of pop in his right-handed bat. And despite his struggles in relatively scant action at the big league level, Olt has hit will at Triple-A over the last two years. In 246 turns at bat there this season, he’s slashed .273/.346/.477.

• Baseball executives believe it an increasing likelihood that Kendrys Morales will wait to sign until after the June 5-7 amateur draft, reports CBSSports.com’s  Jon Heyman. If he does so, then a signing club would not lose a draft pick and his former club (the Mariners) would not gain a compensatory choice. Morales has had discussions since the start of the season — Heyman says the Orioles are believed to have had “serious talks” — but apparently nothing is close. In addition to Baltimore and Seattle, says Heyman, possible landing spots could hypothetically include the Brewers and even the Athletics.
• Cubs third baseman Mike Olt, 25, has done enough in the early going to earn a chance at additional playing time, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Though his on-base and strikeout numbers are less than promising, Olt has blasted four home runs in 48 plate appearances. Olt, of course, came over in last year’s Matt Garza trade as something of a buy-low prospect, after eye issues contributed to a rough season at Triple-A in 2013 (.201/.303/.381, with 15 home runs and 132 strikeouts, in 432 plate appearances).
• Outfielder Willy Taveras is eyeing a comeback, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The 32-year-old, who last played in the bigs in 2010, is playing in Mexico at present. Best known for his wheels — he led the league in stolen bases (68) in 2008 — Taveras has swiped seven bags in seven attempts in his first 18 games in the Mexican League, Rosenthal notes. In 279 plate appearances at Triple-A last year with the Royals, Taveras slashed .239/.308/.340 and stole 11 bases.
• With a young staff, the Astros have made the league’s most extensive use of true long relief, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. GM Jeff Luhnow says that the club’s minor league use of a true tandem system is “more of a development thing,” with the big league club’s employment of long men more a “cousin” deployed for “high-pitch count guys.” Looking ahead, though, Luhnow says he “would not be surprised if clubs started to think about some unique solutions to help prevent injuries” noting that “we’re certainly one of them.” Notably, given his organization’s upper-minor tandems, Luhnow observed:“you do it at Triple-A — what’s the difference doing it at the big leagues?” Athletics assistant GM Farhan Zaidi was even more bullish on the possibility of tandem starters appearing in MLB. “I can absolutely see it happening,” he said. “We actually talked about doing it a few years ago when we had pitching depth that wasn’t unlike what the Astros have now. The reason I think it could still happen is overwhelming evidence that limiting the exposure of pitchers to a third time through the lineup is really advantageous.” The full piece includes many more interesting observations from these executives, and is well worth a read.

• Outfielder Billy Burns might be the most intriguing player in Athletics camp, writes Rosenthal. Acquired from the Nationals in exchange for Jerry Blevins, Burns was attractive to the A's because he was one of just three players in all of minor league baseball with more than 50 stolen bases and an OBP north of .400 last season. Burns has swiped seven bags in eight Spring Training games thus far, and scouts have raved about his instincts as a leadoff man, says Rosenthal.
• Mike Olt has looked good thus far in camp with the Cubs, and the team's preference is for him to win the third base job out of Spring Training rather than head back to Triple-A. Doing so would allow the club to start Christian Villanueva at third in Triple-A and Kris Bryant at the hot corner in Double-A. Rosenthal points out that if Olt were to rebound from the concussion/vision issues that plagued him last season, the Cubs' haul for Matt Garza would look all the more impressive. Chicago also plucked C.J. Edwards from the Rangers, who enters the 2014 season ranked as the game's No. 26 prospect, per Baseball America.
• Brewers first baseman Juan Francisco could be squeezed out again and find himself on the move, writes Rosenthal. Francisco is out of options, and the Brew Crew could prefer to take Lyle Overbay as a potential pairing with Mark Reynolds due to Overbay's superior glove. Rosenthal speculates that the Tigers could be a good fit for Francisco, as they have just four players capable of hitting left-handed on their roster. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ran down all of the NL Central's out-of-options players yesterday.
• It's been reported in recent days that the Royals and James Shields aren't likely to work out an extension, and sources tell Rosenthal the same thing. A Masterson extension would be a clear benefit to Shields, as Shields would have less competition on next year's open market. MLBTR recently examined what Shields might earn as a free agent next offseason.

Here are more stray notes from around the game …

• Another trade deadline mover, Mike Olt of the Cubs, has shown substantial improvement in the eyesight issues that plagued him last year with the Rangers, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. Though his prospect stock has fallen in the meantime, all that matters to Olt is maintaining his health. "As long as I'm healthy," he said, "I know that I can do what I was capable of."
• Reliever Jason Frasor explained that he elected to re-sign with the Rangers for the simple reason that he likes playing for the club, reports Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. "Free agency isn't that great for middle relievers," he said. "I never wanted to be the kind of guy that bounced around from team to team as middle relievers often do with one-year deals. I found a place I really, really liked. … I think I was the first [free agent] to sign [this offseason]. I just didn't feel it was worth it to try to scrape out maybe a little better contract … ."
• One free agent who faces a much more open-ended market is former ace Johan Santana. As Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports, Santana has fielded interest from at least three American League clubs. The 34-year-old is hoping to be ready to take the mound in a big league game in June.
• The Rays' roster battle features several situations where options will play a role, reports Bill Chastain of MLB.com. Among the players who must make the active roster or face a DFA are Chris Archer, Josh Lueke, Jake McGee, Cesar Ramos, Brandon Guyer, and Matt Joyce. 

6:20pm: The Rangers aren't afraid to make splashes and add pitching help if they feel they have a shot at the World Series. In 2010, it was Cliff Lee. In 2011, it was Mike Adams and Koji Uehara. In 2012, it was Ryan Dempster. This season, it's Matt Garza. The Rangers and Cubs have officially announced a trade that will send Garza to Texas for third baseman Mike Olt, right-hander Justin Grimm, right-hander C.J. Edwards and at least one player to be named later, although Rangers GM Jon Daniels noted that the Cubs can also receive a second PTBNL depending on who they select as the first. The Cubs will be choosing the PTBNL(s) from a list entirely composed of pitchers, GM Jed Hoyer said Monday.

Garza, 29, has been tremendous for the Cubs in limited action this season. Though he began the year on the disabled list, he's shown little signs of rust since being activated on May 21. In 71 innings, Garza has pitched to a 3.17 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. He will join the front of a loaded Rangers rotation that also features Derek Holland and Yu Darvish, who is set to return from the DL tonight. Garza is a free agent at season's end and therefore cannot be tied to draft pick compensation, meaning that he is strictly a rental for the Rangers, barring a long-term extension. He currently ranks fifth on Tim Dierkes' Free Agent Power Rankings.

Olt, 24, entered the season as the No. 22 prospect in baseball according to both Baseball America and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, while ESPN's Keith Law ranked him 71st. Olt batted .288/.398/.579 at Double-A Frisco last season and made his Major League debut with the Rangers. He's battled vision problems in 2013, however, which could be the reason his production has tumbled to .218/.318/.438 at Triple-A Round Rock. Prior to the season, BA praised his plus raw power and advanced hitting approach, calling him "a threat to go deep anytime he steps to the plate." BA, Law and Mayo all agree that he's a plus defender at third though Law questions whether or not he will make enough contact to hit at the big league level with any consistency.

Grimm, also 24, has made 17 starts for the Rangers this season but posted an ugly 6.37 ERA in 17 starts. However, Grimm posted a 3.93 ERA through his first nine starts, and advanced metrics like FIP (4.79), xFIP (4.25) and SIERA (4.34) all suggest that his ERA should be substantially lower. Prior to the season, BA ranked Grimm fifth among Rangers prospects, calling him a potential mid-rotation starter. He's averaged 91.4 mph on his heater this season, also mixing in a 12-to-6 curveball and a changeup.

Edwards, 21, ranked as Texas' No. 14 prospect prior to the season, according to BA, whose scouting report notes that the South Carolina native fell to the 48th round of the draft and signed for just $50K because he didn't pitch in any high-profile showcases prior to the 2011 draft. Edwards' stock has skyrocketed in 2013, as he's pitched to a pristine 1.83 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 93 1/3 innings for Class A Hickory.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides were nearing a new deal for Garza (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was the first to break that a deal had been reached, and he also was the first to report Olt's inclusion (Twitter links). Rosenthal tweeted that Edwards and a third player would be going to the Cubs, and Passan reported that the package included Grimm and a PTBNL (on Twitter). Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reported that the Cubs could receive one or two PTBNLs, depending on who they selected as the first (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

• The Athletics made a late push for Garza, which is what caused the Rangers to up their offer at the last minute, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
• For Cubs fans who would like more info on what they received for Garza, Baseball America's Matt Eddy provides scouting info on Olt, Edwards and Grimm.
• The Cubs had to accept Grimm instead of second baseman Rougned Odor when the Rangers raised questions about Garza's elbow, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Cubs tried to acquire Olt at the deadline last year, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (including the Daily Herald's Bruce Miles).
• The Rangers felt that Garza was the best pitcher available on the market, GM Jon Daniels told reporters, including Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Miller's piece is loaded with quotes from Daniels, who feels that the addition of Garza may give the Rangers as strong of a pitching staff they've ever had.
• The Rangers overpaid to get Garza, but all teams do so in order to acquire the top rental on the market, writes Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. Durrett adds that the Rangers needed to make this move and it's a worthwhile gamble given their minor league depth.
• In an Insider-only piece, ESPN's Keith Law writes that both sides did well in the trade, as Garza could represent a two WAR upgrade over Grimm through the end of the season, and the Cubs received a nice package of players in return. Olt and Edwards alone would've been a good return, in Law's opinion, making the addition of Grimm and at least one PTBNL even better.
• Garza never should have been a Cub, opines Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com. He writes that the acquisition of Garza was a poorly timed win-now move by former GM Jim Hendry that was made when the team wasn't in a position to win. Dealing Garza for a strong package from Texas was the right move, adds Greenberg, who notes that better days are ahead for Cubs fans.
• With Garza off the market, trade talks for Bud Norris will likely now heat up, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told McTaggart that the Garza trade may "start a series of different types of talks."

• A Major League source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe the Red Sox's interest level in Garza is deepening (Twitter link). This comes in the wake of the news Clay Buchholz will seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews tomorrow. Manager John Farrell, as quoted by WEEI.com's Alex Speier on Twitter, explained the purpose of the visit is for "verification and clarification to get some peace of mind."
• Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (free registration required) calls the Pirates "the team du jour" after GM Neal Huntington's comments earlier today and adds the Orioles, who are scouting the Cubs on their current road trip, are viewed as sleepers for Garza. 

Earlier Updates

• The Cubs have worked to draw competing offers into the Garza bidding in order to create alternatives to Texas, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. 
• Cubs manager Dale Sveum told reporters, including the Chicago Sun-Times' Gordon Wittenmyer (Twitter link), Garza will "100 percent" make his start tomorrow against the Diamondbacks.
• The Cubs would prefer to deal Garza before his scheduled start tomorrow against Arizona, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
• The Rangers and Cubs were set back in talks to the point where the Rangers are now viewed as only one of many teams now in the mix for Garza, Heyman writes.  For now it seems that Texas and Chicago made no progress in overcoming the snag that derailed their swap on Friday night, though the Rangers aren't out of it.  The deal that fell apart included a package of Rangers prospects, with third baseman Mike Olt and pitchers C.J. Edwards and Neil Ramirez thought to have been on the table.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.