Minor MLB Transactions: 12/17/16

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

• The White Sox have re-signed righty Blake Smith to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. (Heyman had previously reported it was the Padres who had signed Smith, but that seems to have been incorrect.) Chicago non-tendered Smith two weeks ago. The 29-year-old made his big-league debut in 2016, pitching 4 1/3 innings for the White Sox, but he’s perhaps a little more interesting than that pedigree suggests — he played his first several pro seasons as an outfielder before moving to the mound in 2013 as a 25-year-old, and he’s since made good progress getting through the minors, posting a 3.53 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings for Triple-A Charlotte in 2016 while throwing his fastball in the 93-MPH range in his big-league stint. The Padres selected Smith in the second round of the Rule 5 Draft in 2015 but ultimately returned him to the White Sox.
• The Marlins have signed righty Javy Guerra to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The 31-year-old Guerra pitched briefly for the Angels in 2016 but spent most of the year with Triple-A Salt Lake, where he posted a 4.35 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 51 2/3 innings. As that line suggests, Guerra has struggled with his control, and his 4.3 career MLB BB/9 has probably been his biggest impediment to sustained success (although he’s also had injury issues, and he missed 50 games in 2015 due to a drug suspension). Nonetheless, he has had strong seasons with the Dodgers and White Sox in parts of six years in the big leagues, and his experience could be valuable to the Marlins as they continue to address their bullpen.