The Royals have signed righty reliever Bobby Parnell to what is presumably a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Parnell is an ACES client.
The 32-year-old Parnell once served as a prominent reliever and then a closer for the Mets, but he has struggled to get his career back on track after having Tommy John surgery early in the 2014 season. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers prior to the 2016 season and posted middling numbers in Triple-A. He did make it to the Majors, only to struggle in six outings before being released. His fastball velocity, however, did increase to an average of 94 MPH, one mile per hour higher than in 2015 with the Mets and a bit closer to the high-90s velocity he had in his prime.
Also among the Royals signings (again, presumably of the minor league variety) not already previously noted in this space are lefty Jonathan Sanchez, infielder Brooks Conrad and outfielder Ruben Sosa. The 34-year-old Sanchez did not pitch competitively in 2016 after being released by the Reds in Spring Training. He was a longtime cog in the Giants’ rotation and 786 1/3 big-league innings, a no-hitter, and a 2010 championship ring to his name. He has not appeared in the big leagues since struggling in five outings with the Pirates in 2013, however, and he’s frequently struggled with control issues, with a 5.0 career BB/9. He briefly played for the Royals in 2012.
Conrad, 36, played for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in 2016 and hit sparingly. His last significant minor league action came in 2015 with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where he batted a modest .194/.280/.319. In parts of six seasons in the big leagues, he’s hit .200/.271/.389 in about one full season’s worth of at-bats while playing mostly second and third.
The 5-foot-7, 26-year-old Sosa spent several years in the Astros and Angels systems and never established himself as a top prospect, but he likely caught the Royals’ attention with a strong showing in the Mexican League in 2016. In 314 plate appearances with Laguna, he batted .371/.458/.517 with 22 stolen bases, impressive numbers even in a hitter-friendly context.
I’ll always remember Brooks Conrad for two things. His dramatic walk off grand slam vs the Reds, and allowing Posey’s grounder to go through his legs in the 2010 NLDS.
He actually had THREE errors that game which (ironically enough) was pitched by Jonathan Sanchez.
Didn’t he also get neck surgery or something else other than TJS? I always thought it was something else that derailed him.
Parnell that is
yeah he needed some kind of neck surgery which had the bigger effect on his career. good memory!
Worst pitcher to throw a no-hitter: Phil Humber, Bud Smith, Jose Jimenez or Sanchez?
Humber
Mike Warren or Dallas Braden
Braden was actually pretty useful for a spell until his shoulder exploded, not fair to say he’s “worst” It has to be Humber. Bust prospect, lousy journeyman, and the final out was recorded on a check swing strikeout where Brendan Ryan barely moved the bat off his shoulders.
Yeah, always felt bad for all those Rice University pitchers. Always overworked in college, always broke down in the majors.
Humber by far if say, but one the worst no-hitter pitching performances was when I watched Francisco Liriano throw one against the Tigers when he was a twin, I think he only had like 3 Ks or something, Bobby Valentine did the analyst after the game and was blaming the tigers for giving him the no-hitter lol.
Johan Santana’s no-hitter comes to mind just because he walked a ton of guys and it ended his career.
Jonathan Sanchez…man, I forgot all about that dude.
Typical Royals pick-ups. Sanchez will be pitching in KC by May and the shelves will be cleaned out by mid June or so. Expect more “veterans” to be added before spring training. Curt Shilling might make a comeback with the R’s and maybe even a John Smotlz sighting….lol