The Diamondbacks re-signed righty Joe Ross to a minor league contract. He has been assigned to Triple-A Reno, where he’s back in action.
Ross had a brief stay on the open market after electing free agency earlier in the week. Arizona had designated him for assignment. It’s common for veterans in his position to decline an outright assignment but re-sign on a new minor league deal. Those can come with a higher minor league salary or opt-out/upward mobility opportunities that might not have been present had they accepted the outright.
The 32-year-old Ross broke camp in a long relief role after signing a minor league contract in February. He worked a perfect inning in his season debut but was knocked around over the next two appearances. Ross gave up six runs without getting through an inning against the Tigers on March 30. He surrendered three walks and a Mauricio Dubón homer in a blowout loss to Atlanta two days later.
Ross has plenty of starting experience but has worked as a multi-inning reliever for the past year-plus. He posted a 5.12 ERA across 51 innings out of the Philadelphia bullpen last season. Ross worked in relief of pitching prospect Mitch Bratt tonight in his first appearance with Reno. He gave up six hits and four runs, including a two-run homer to Trey Mancini, across 2 1/3 frames.
He’s back!
Enjoyed him in “Car 54, Where Are You”.
I get it as a depth move, but this guy has nothing left in the tank. At this point he is just a notch above having a position player on the mound.