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Tigers Sign Ricky Vanasco To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | November 29, 2024 at 1:28pm CDT

TODAY: Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Vanasco’s minor league deal comes with an invite to big league spring training as well as a $925K salary when in the majors.

11/28: The Tigers have signed right-hander Ricky Vanasco to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Full Circle Sports Management client has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo for now but will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training.

Vanasco, 26, finished the 2024 season with the Tigers. They acquired him from the Dodgers in a July cash deal and largely kept him in the minors on optional assignment, only giving him two major league appearances. Detroit then non-tendered him last week, sending him to free agency without exposing him to waivers, which allowed them to bring him back via this deal.

The righty now has just four major league appearances under his belt, two of those coming with the Dodgers prior to the two he made with the Tigers. That’s obviously not a large enough sample to draw any conclusions from, but there are other reasons why the Tigers are interested.

Vanasco was drafted by the Rangers back in 2017 and put up some good numbers in the lower levels of the minors. Baseball America ranked him that club’s #12 prospect going into 2020. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in September of that year and missed the entire 2021 season. Still, the Rangers didn’t want him to be left exposed in the Rule 5 draft, so they added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2021.

Recovered from his surgery, he was back on the mound in 2022. He made 23 starts that year between High-A and Double-A, throwing 92 1/3 innings with a 4.68 earned run average. His 28.9% strikeout rate was strong but he also gave out walks at a 12.7% clip. In 2023, knee surgery forced him to miss a few months but he had some encouraging results while switching to a relief role. He tossed 32 1/3 innings that year with a 2.78 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate, getting acquired by the Dodgers midway through that year.

In 2024, as mentioned, he made four major league appearances between the Dodgers and Tigers. Most of his time was spent in Triple-A, where he logged 40 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA. His 26.4% strikeout rate was good but the 16.5% walk rate very much on the high side.

The lack of control could make Vanasco a bit of a project for the Tigers, but there’s no real risk on a minor league deal and there could be long-term benefits if it works out. Vanasco is out of options but has less than a year of service time and is still relatively young. That means he could be cheaply retained for years into the future if things click for him and he gets a roster spot.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Ricky Vanasco

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View Comments (26)
Post a Comment

26 Comments

  1. Ben Jamin

    7 months ago

    I am very happy to have him back. If he can get his control to be even average he can be a decent big leaguer. If not you can bet have to much depth.

    6
    Reply
  2. ellisd19830

    7 months ago

    Ricky Nolasco in disguise? Made himself 15 yrs younger?

    9
    Reply
  3. gotigers68

    7 months ago

    *yawn*

    2
    Reply
    • ellisd19830

      7 months ago

      Too much turkey?

      3
      Reply
      • gotigers68

        7 months ago

        That too…..

        Reply
  4. dkhits20

    7 months ago

    Well, it’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in MLB today.

    3
    Reply
  5. Biggie22

    7 months ago

    So Tigers fan how you feeling about Spencer Tolkerson?

    I’ve been thinking about this 3 team trade…

    Tigers get Jamier Candelario; Reds get Cody Bellinger & Cubs get Spencer Tolkerson…

    Tigers get a versatile corner IF who had his best years with Detroit & brings a veteran presence to a Young team…

    Reds get versatile corner outfielder who can also backup CF, which they desperately need & only add a plus 10M NET to payroll in 2025 by moving Candelario’s salary…

    Cubs get to unload a less than ideal contract off the books and get to save face by getting former top prospect in return…

    1
    Reply
    • Ben Jamin

      7 months ago

      It might work for the Reds, but not for the other two teams. If the Tigers want to upgrade at first or third there are better free agent options. The Cubs already have a young first baseman. They would probably like to dump Bellinger though, so maybe they would do it to just get out from under the salary. How about the Red and Cubs parts, but put the Yankees to get Candy as a cheaper option at first or third so they can save money for Soto and a pitcher?

      9
      Reply
      • GarryHarris

        7 months ago

        I have a counter offer: Nico Hoerner for Javier Baez. Seriously, the Cubs have Michael Busch at 1B.

        4
        Reply
        • Ben Jamin

          7 months ago

          Deal! Plus if the Cubs take on all of Javy’s salary then the Tigers throw in Matt Manning as another change of scenery player along with a few second tier prospects.

          2
          Reply
        • GarryHarris

          7 months ago

          The Tigers will now offer up Kenya Maeda.

          1
          Reply
    • LouWhitakerHOF

      7 months ago

      I was not a big fan of the Candy man when he was in Detroit before. I didn’t consider him a good fielder and believe he hit under .200 that final season. I would definitely keep Torkelson over the Candy man.

      8
      Reply
    • Karensjer

      7 months ago

      Torkelson has more potential than Candelario. He was good when Detroit had him, but he is getting on the old side, and the only way I would make that deal is Torkelson for Bellinger straight up.

      3
      Reply
      • GarryHarris

        7 months ago

        No interest in Cody Bellinger. Although Bellinger is a good defensive CF, Parker Meadows is better CF and the Tigers don’t need Bellinger’s Ks. Bellinger can play a better defensive 1B, Spencer Torkelson has good potential at a much lower cost.

        Reply
    • Motor City Beach Bum

      7 months ago

      The Tigers should grab Yandy Diaz instead.

      1
      Reply
    • tjb6

      7 months ago

      I’m not ready to give up on Torkelson. He’s one year removed from a 30-HR campaign, and we all know we can use the power. I don’t put much stock in defensive metrics, but I think he is better at 1st than people think. I definitely give him one year before calling it.

      10
      Reply
      • Tomas80

        7 months ago

        He grades out pretty poorly at first. With that said, he needs to hit 30+ and drive in runs.

        1
        Reply
        • For Love of the Game

          7 months ago

          He was serviceable in 2023 and after being recalled in 2024, but pretty poor at bat and in the field the first half of 2024.

          1
          Reply
    • Tigers3232

      7 months ago

      I’m not a big fan of Tork. But why would Tigers trade him for a struggling player they let walk? That’s not even factoring in the $ he’s still owed.

      5
      Reply
  6. energel

    7 months ago

    Ricky Vanasco
    Vanasco
    Van-A-Sco
    cool name
    sorry just watched elf

    2
    Reply
  7. The Saber-toothed Superfife

    7 months ago

    Congratulations, Ricky Vanasco!

    Reply
    • The Saber-toothed Superfife

      7 months ago

      Of course, your good fortune is an opportunity to rag on one the Tigers’ best hitters, so quickly – like he’s Al Avila or something….. Tork is going to have a breakout year!

      They should bring back Al…..
      and hire…..

      1
      Reply
  8. Harry074

    7 months ago

    I like the idea of platooning Bellinger and Torkleson, plus Cody can play a solid OF. Good bat for not c giving up much

    Reply
  9. Dtownwarrior78

    7 months ago

    No way trading Tork for Candy. ST is still very young and has also shown 30 HR pop, so it is in there and can be brought out with the right swing changes. Way too soon to give to on him.

    1
    Reply
  10. 84LeFlore

    7 months ago

    I hope Harris & AJ aren’t feeling pressure from the media &/or fans. As bleak as 3B looks right now, I don’t want to get shackled to another horrible contract. Bregman and Arenado would both come with those.

    1
    Reply
  11. GarryHarris

    7 months ago

    Bergman and Arenado won’t come to Detroit.

    Reply

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