The Reds have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with righty Sam McWilliams, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic.
Originally drafted by the Phillies, McWilliams was part of a couple of trades as a prospect, going to the Diamondbacks for Jeremy Hellickson before later being flipped to the Rays as part of the Steven Souza Jr. trade.
In 2019, he got his first taste of Triple-A, struggling mightily at that level, putting up an ERA of 8.18 in 44 innings there. After the pandemic wiped out the minors in 2020, McWilliams reached free agency and signed a Major League deal with the Mets. Yet again, McWilliams struggled, throwing 8 1/3 innings in Triple-A and getting shelled to the tune of a 10.80 ERA. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Padres, struggling some more before being DFA’d again and clearing waivers.
Ghiroli recently wrote about McWilliams, providing insight into how all this came to be and why teams continue to be interested in the hurler. While the full story is worth a read for all the details, the short version is that McWilliams became a disciple of advanced analytics, greatly improving the speed, spin and shape of his pitches. However, he became overwhelmed in a sea of data and lost the ability to locate his pitches, developing a condition that is commonly known as “the yips.” The data certainly backs that up, as he had a 20.2% walk rate in the minors last year. (Average is usually in the vicinity of 8%.)
McWilliams is now changing his approach and hoping to make the journey back from his struggles, much like Tyler Matzek of the Braves. The yips kept Matzek out of baseball for years, but he made a remarkable comeback that led all the way to a World Series title last year. The Reds are hoping that McWilliams can similarly overcome these obstacles and find the best version of himself. The club has been primarily focused on cost-cutting recently, which involved subtracting Wade Miley, Sonny Gray and Amir Garrett from the pitching staff. Taking a flier on a pitcher like McWilliams is a no-risk way of trying to recoup some of those losses without a significant financial investment. McWilliams is only 26 years old and has yet to make his MLB debut. He also has a couple of option years remaining, meaning he could be a valuable depth option for the club if he can crack the roster.
Another project for the Reds who won’t work out
And what is it really costing them, Johnny Super Scout?
Doesn’t matter what he costs it’s more bargain bin dumpster diving.
No, Tiger, its more commentary by those who know very little about baseball, but think they do. Newsflash: EVERY team, (meaning ALL or 100% of the teams, if that helps), signs guys to minor league deals, or “dumpster dive” (as you and the morons call it) to fill out a roster. That’s fact.
Who cares this guy sucks and the team will lose 90 plus games. #selltheteambob
Nice response – you continue to prove the point. Its too bad you are probably of legal voting age.
This kid will get cut before the end of spring training meaning it was a waste of time. It would make more sense to develop some of the players they already have in the minors. The Reds major league team has given away or let loose of over 100 hrs and 200 rbis from 4 player and replaced it with 16 hrs and 42 rbis. Doesn’t take a baseball expert to see this team is going to be bad.
Lol legendary Met who got a sports illustrated article about himself and ended up being cut after an 11.00 ERA in AAA. Hope he can figure out his control that’s one of the few things holding him back
Shout out Jeremy hellickson. One of my all time favorite players
He’s only 24 years old, far from the usual “dumpster dive”. And IMHO he’s likely not the only pitcher (or hitter) to suffer from analysis paralysis. A worthwhile move.
The player link in the article is to a different Sam McWilliams.
/register/player.fcgi?id=mcwill000sam