The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Touki Toussaint, catcher Cam Gallagher and righty Michael Kelly to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Cleveland also confirmed its previously reported signing of outfielder Roman Quinn.
Toussaint, 26, is the most recognizable and most experienced name of the bunch. A former first-round draft pick (No. 16 overall, to the D-backs in 2014) and top-100 prospect in the sport, the 6’3″ righty was traded to the Braves and, for several years, was viewed as a potentially vital piece of the team’s most recent rebuilding cycle. It was easy enough to see why. Toussaint obliterated minor league lineups in 2018, pitching to a combined 2.38 ERA in 136 1/3 innings — including a 1.43 ERA in 50 innings during his Triple-A debut.
It’s been mostly downhill since that time, however. Toussaint was solid but wild in a 29-inning MLB debut late in the ’18 season, and he was clobbered both in Triple-A and in the Majors in 2019 (as were many pitchers in the juiced ball season). He allowed 24 runs in 24 1/3 innings during the shortened 2020 season, and Toussaint hasn’t really found his footing in either of the two subsequent seasons, despite a move to the bullpen and a change of scenery that sent him from Atlanta to Anaheim.
All in all, Toussaint has a 5.34 ERA in 170 1/3 big league innings. He’s punched out a solid 23.7% of his opponents and paired that with a solid 11.1% swinging-strike rate, but he’s also walked far too many hitters (13.6%) and been homer-prone more often than not (1.37 HR/9). His Triple-A work has been better, but not markedly so; in 160 innings he carries a 4.55 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate.
Gallagher, 30, has appeared in parts of six Major League seasons — all with the Royals. He’s primarily functioned as a glove-first backup to iron man Salvador Perez, never topping more than 142 plate appearances in a single big league season. He’s tallied just 469 trips to the plate during his time in the Majors, batting .240/.302/.355 overall. Gallagher draws plus marks for his framing and has registered 11 Defensive Runs Saved in 1136 career innings behind the plate, though he’s struggled a bit with the running game (20.6% caught-stealing rate in his career).
Also 30, Kelly made his Major League debut with the Phillies in 2022 when he tossed four innings of one-run ball with a 4-to-1 K/BB ratio. The longtime Padres farmhand has a spotty track record in the upper minors but had a big year with the Astros’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2021, pitching to a combined 2.70 ERA with a with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. He was hit hard with the Phillies’ Triple-A club in 2022, but part of his unsightly 5.29 ERA can be chalked up to a sky-high .375 average on balls in play. Kelly also punched out better than 29% of his opponents for a second straight year in 2022.
Both Toussaint and Kelly will vie for bullpen spots this spring, though Cleveland has a deep and talented relief corps that might be tough to crack in the earlygoing. That said, either could be a fine depth option in the event of injuries. Gallagher will be behind each of Mike Zunino, Bo Naylor and Bryan Lavastida on the depth chart, as they’re all on the 40-man roster. He joins another former Royals backup, Meibrys Viloria, as catching depth in the upper minors.
Am I the only one who remembers the “Touki Touki” bird (or some variation thereof) from Morning Zoo shows of the 1980s & 1990s? This version was a decent bullpen arm for the Braves, so he could catch on in Cleveland.
He’s worth taking a chance on.
They see something they may be able to tweak and get more. That is what Cleveland does, finds pitchers of a certain mold and transform them.
Change it to the Spiders already. PLEASE!!!
Although I agree because it would be an awesome name, I read that they couldn’t because another team was already named the Spiders, it would’ve created a trademark problem with the Richmond team. I don’t know how much of that is legally correct but that’s the story…
https://news.wosu.org/news/2021-07-28/from-the-name-to-the-logos-how-clevelands-baseball-team-settled-on-the-guardians?_amp=true
Anyway, I couldn’t stand the name, Guardians, but read that they were actually named after historical Art Deco guardians of the Memorial Bridge near Progressive Field. Thought that was pretty interesting…..
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/mlb/2022/10/06/why-did-the-cleveland-guardians-change-their-name-tampa-did-too/69544304007/
It changed my feeling when I learned the origin of the Guardians name.
RA: Yeah, it gave me a different perspective on the name for sure. The historical origin generated more respect from me. I still don’t particularly find the name enticing as a sports team name, but I’m also a sucker for history……
I can’t get used to Guardians. Not sure Spiders much better.
The logo looks like it was made in 6th grade computer lab
Maybe it was
Still better than the Washington Commanders. These name changes really have been missed opportunities to do something cool but instead we get generic
Generic in an original way. Yes, they are names that probably could’ve been generated by Nintendo Super NES Baseball, but I cannot say I have heard of any actual teams with those names before.
Well and the franchise name Indians was soooo engraved into everybody’s head. Like, even people that aren’t a big fan of baseball could say “Cleveland Indians.” Especially with the Major League movie, the name was deeply sewed into the pop culture lexicon.
As a 34 year old dude who grew up watching Jim Thomas Kenny Lofton the Alomars and then later CC, Fausto etc, it’s still extremely odd for me; and difficult to connect that when I’m watching a guardians game…..this is the same franchise as Jo Bu and Wild Thing.
@Ajc38
…on an Etch-A-Sketch
Someone needs a diaper change and a nap.
The horse is really dead now
Happy to see Kelly get another shot. Anyone who spent some time in the Atlantic League and made their way back is a fun story.
Toussaint is probably gambling that the Guardians’ pitching coaches can tame his wild stuff. I know if I was a pitcher I would want to go there if I had my choice.
Gallagher is an interesting fit. The Guardians did lose a lot of catching depth but they just signed Zunino and Viloria. Columbus already had 4 catchers listed, and that’s not including Lavastida or Naylor who are on the 40, but likely one of them will start in Columbus. My guess is that they maybe consider David Fry a 3B/1B only now.
Touki looks like he should be good. You see him on the mound warming up and there’s velocity and movement.
Then the games matter and he’s somehow both wild and predictable.
He doesn’t have it between the ears
If anyone can get Toussant back on track, it would be Cleveland. Curious to see if there pitching lab can work their magic again.
Go Tribe!
Nice signing. Touki is still young enough to develop into something. Although it’s clear his ceiling isn’t high anymore, he might figure it out enough to be a good bullpen arm, which I have been coach gm’ing for him to move to for years. Good luck
Touki Toussaint? OK now the Guardians are just making people up. Who next Kiki Kyler?
Everyone is saying it’s a good signing just because they heard of the name on a prospect list before but he’s never shown any skills of being a good MLB pitcher so it means nothing.
It is a minor league deal. If it works out, great. If not, no harm done. Why so many people get worked up over these types of deals is beyond me.
So much for Wade Miley.