Right-hander Ryan Hendrix announced on Instagram that he has signed with the Diamondbacks (hat tip to @HeyGingersaurus). Presumably, it’s a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, though there’s been no official announcement from the team just yet.
It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Hendrix, who turns 28 on Friday. This will be just the second organization for him, as he was drafted by the Reds in 2016 and has been with them ever since. The reliever worked his way up the minor league ladder and got selected to the club’s 40-man roster ahead of the 2020 season.
Though he didn’t make it to the show in 2020, he has seen some brief MLB action in the past two years. In his 40 combined innings, he has a 5.85 ERA with solid strikeout and ground ball rates of 24.4% and 42.2%, though a 12.2% walk rate that’s a few ticks above league average. The story is fairly similar in the minors, with Hendrix tossing 54 1/3 Triple-A innings over the past two years, posting a 6.13 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 16% walk rate, getting grounders on over 50% of balls in play in each season.
Hendrix was outrighted off the Reds’ roster in October and elected free agency. The Diamondbacks have stepped up and given him a new opportunity, presumably intrigued by his combination of strikeouts and ground balls. If he can rein in his control, he could prove to be a useful hurler. Assuming this is indeed a minor league deal, he will have to work his way back to a 40-man roster spot. If he succeeds there, he’s out of options and will need to hang onto his active roster spot or else be designated for assignment.
And the wind cries Mary
Get off my mound said that to Hendrix in Cincinnati.
Our pitching gonna be worse than last year
Pitching gonna be worse than last year
Why, because the team signed a 28 year old as a MiLB FA with an invite to ST? Those are exactly the kinds of pitchers you should be signing, because it’s essentially zero risk.
The DBacks aren’t eliminated from adding another FA, and they’ve added Castro to the settled in group of Ginkel, Mantiply, and Nelson; which is a solid enough group to add to. Martin is essentially locked into the LR role and Melancon will hang around until the team can justify him as a sunk cost, at which point one of the high-90s arms in AAA can transition in or an external addition eats up a spot.
I won’t touch too much on SP, but Jameson, Nelson, and (soon) Pfaadt have some of the highest quality stuff we’ve seen from a DBacks Rookie in years, each with solid command to boot. Not to mention Gallen and Kelly.
They won’t be the best bullpen or rotation in the league, but they will have close to (if not) the most improved. To what extent remains to be seen.
Finally someone with a brain