The Rays have signed left-handed reliever Vidal Nuno III, according to Roster Roundup. He presumably inked a minor league contract.
Nuno landed a minors deal with the Nationals back in January, but they released him last week with a June 15 opt-out date approaching. The 31-year-old struggled to a 7.25 ERA/6.32 FIP with 10.07 K/9, 4.84 BB/9 and a 35.9 percent groundball rate in 22 1/3 innings with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate before returning to the open market. A significant portion of that damage came in one appearance, though.
With his Washington stint in the rearview, Nuno’s returning to the Tampa Bay organization. He spent last season with the Rays, notching 33 innings of 1.64 ERA ball in the majors. The soft-tossing Nuno’s success in the run prevention department came with less encouraging peripherals, though, as he recorded a 4.46 FIP with 7.91 K/9, 2.73 BB/9 and a paltry 28.6 percent grounder rate. He also benefited from a perfect strand rate and a .216 batting average on balls in play against.
Also a former Yankee, Diamondback, Mariner and Oriole, Nuno saw big league action in each season between his 2013 debut and last year. He owns a 4.06 ERA/4.68 FIP, 7.45 K/9 against 2.51 BB/9, and a 37.9 percent grounder mark in 377 innings at the sport’s top level.
Do not get up to use the head when he comes in-he pitches as if he’s double parked.
The weirdest comment I’ve ever seen on MLBTR
hardly.
Nuno and some Triple A promotion is all the Rays will get in Relief pitching help going forward. All the talk about a Craig Kimball offer was just hyped news to put the spotlite on the Rays for a short while. They won’t spend money even when they are close to winning a division.
A decent career for a 48th round draft pick!