The Reds have signed right-hander Derek Law to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
Law, 31, has previously pitched for the Giants, Blue Jays and Twins, before joining the Tigers this year. He was signed to a minor league contract in April and pitched well in Triple-A this season. In 39 innings over 33 appearances, he registered a 3.23 ERA with a 27.2% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 46.2% ground ball rate.
He was selected to the big league club at the end of July but was designated for assignment less than a week later, after getting into just two MLB games. Law cleared waivers and was outrighted by the Tigers, though he was eligible to elect free agency based on the fact that he’s been previously outrighted in his career and also has over three years of MLB service time.
Law did indeed elect free agency and will now join a Cincinnati team with notable pitching depth concerns. They currently have 11 hurlers on the injured list, with seven of those being on the 60-day IL. Given those injuries and the fact that they traded Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle at the deadline, the pitching staff is not in the strongest shape at the moment. Should they decide they need a fresh arm, Law should be an intriguing option, given his experience and solid minor league numbers this year.
This is a good pickup. Their bullpen has been the worst I’ve ever seen. Alexis Diaz has been the only highlight.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is not a good pickup. He did good in AAA for the Tigers as the Toledo closer, but was atrocious both times he pitched for Detroit. His poor fielding was exposed as well. I was in favor of his promotion, but also in favor of his demotion.
He can replace Strickland. Doubt he could be any worse. Sanmartin, though awful as a starter, has looked very good as reliever and Diaz has had a promising year. Sadly I would actually argue this isn’t even the Reds worst bullpen of the last decade.
They actively worked to weaken their bullpen over the last 2 years. That’s forced Bell to have to use either rookies, or journey men as closers and setup men.
He was pretty good six years ago.
Just like with the Tigers, he’s just filler to make it thru the rest of the year. He won’t be part of the rebuild.
Reds decided they needed to Better Call Law