It's shaping up to be a pretty good year for Eddy Alvarez.
Just a few short months after the short track skater helped Team USA win its only speed skating medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Chicago White Sox have signed Alvarez to a minor league deal.
The White Sox announced the move before Wednesday night's game against Detroit.
The 24-year-old Miami native has long toggled between the two sports. His short track speed skating prowess emerged at a young age, but baseball also ran deep in his Cuban family blood.
After failing to qualify for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, Alvarez turned his attention back toward playing shortstop at Salt Lake Community College and was named to the all-conference team. Alvarez then redirected his skating efforts with an eye toward Sochi, where he and his teammates won a silver medal in the 5000m relay.
"I've never, ever been able to choose between baseball and skating, which is why I still juggle the two sports in my life," Alvarez told MLB.com prior to the Games.
"I plan to go back to baseball after this," Alvarez continued. "This was one of my goals — always to be an Olympic skater — and the other one is to be a professional baseball player."
Done and done. Here's video of Alvarez signing his papers, captioned "#official @whitesox."
According to NBC OlympicTalk's Nick Zaccardi, Alvarez is already in Arizona working out with the club.
As for whether or not Alvarez has closed the door on PyeongChang 2018, "Right now it looks like skating is done for me," he told PEOPLE magazine. "I'm ready to move on. But if baseball doesn't work out and I still have that itch for skating, I may be back."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
