The Dodgers have signed left-hander Cole Irvin to a minor league contract, Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton reports. Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds that Irvin’s deal includes an invitation to the Dodgers’ big league spring camp. It’s a late birthday present for Irvin, who just celebrated his 32nd birthday yesterday.
Irvin makes his return to North American ball after spending the 2025 season in Seoul with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. Over 28 starts and 144 2/3 innings with the Bears, Irvin posted a 4.48 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate, and 12.2% walk rate. For comparison’s sake, Irvin had a 4.54 ERA, 17.1 K% and 5.6 BB% over 593 innings at the Major League level from 2019-24, so the lack of control is a sudden red flag. Irvin did display a severe lack of control over a handful of games with the Twins in 2024 and with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, but over a small sample size.
The southpaw had his usual strong command over the bulk of the 2024 season, though that was pretty much the only high point of a year that saw Irvin post a 5.11 ERA across 111 innings with Baltimore and Minnesota. The O’s designated Irvin for assignment in September 2024, and he finished the season with a few outings for the Twins following a waiver claim.
Back in 2021-22, Irvin posted a 4.11 ERA over 359 1/3 innings for the Athletics, seemingly establishing himself as a durable starter who could eat innings and deliver quality results. Irvin’s lack of strikeouts or high velocity made his production perhaps a bit of a high-wire act, however, and a trade to the Orioles prior to the 2023 resulted in some struggles as a starter before he righted the ship and became an effective reliever out of the O’s pen.
It is fair to guess that the Dodgers could use Irvin in any variety of roles as the club continues to stockpile as much pitching depth as possible. After two World Series runs and with every expectation of another championship in 2026, Los Angeles is building a pitching staff built for seven months of baseball, not six. If Irvin is able to recapture any of his old form, he could be a useful source of innings as a long man or spot starter to help L.A. manage its arms over the regular-season grind. Given the Dodgers’ track record at pitching development, it is also possible that Irvin can unlock something and achieve a new level of consistent success at the MLB level.
Irvin is Magic
Magic is Ervin…. Johnson
Boo Irvin! He was lousy vs the Mariners after insulting them which was delicious. Not wishing him well.
What did he do to ignite the wrath of Mariner nation? Make fun of the trident? Pull on the mermaid king’s beard?
Said the Kingdome was only soso
Cole F’n Irvin?!?! Ok, now it’s getting out of hand. Someone needs to stop the Dodgers, they literally get EVERYONE!!!
Lack of control in Korea can be due to the food, at least according to the horror story a salesman in my old company told me.
That’s bowel control, a little different.
“Effective reliever out of the pen.”
He had 9 bullpen outings in the 2nd half of the 2024 season. Gave up 4+ runs in 4 of them.
Dodgers are so cheap, they never spend money…
Release coming in 3… 2… 1…
Dodgers are something worth signing him for. Even if it is a minor league deal.
If they have enough injuries he might get a few appearances in and have a chance at a ring.
Imagine trying to crack that Dodgers roster on either side of the ball.
That’s weird, they must see something in him despite his average fastball velocity being only about 91-92. Kinda like what happened with Brooks Raley when he signed with the Reds and got traded to Houston.
In the short memories department, most of these minor league contracts with spring training invitations result in the player being released back into free agency when they don’t make the team, which they hardly ever do. This is purely an insurance hedge against a lot of injuries in spring training.