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Matt Festa

Guardians Designate Vince Velasquez For Assignment

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The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Festa from Triple-A Columbus. Fellow righty Vince Velasquez has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

It was reported earlier this week that the Guardians had acquired Festa from the Rangers. He had signed a minor league deal with Texas but recently had the ability to opt out of that deal if not in the major leagues. Based on the trade, it seemed like the Guards were willing to give him the roster spot that the Rangers would not, and that has come to pass today.

He certainly did his best to earn the opportunity. He tossed 14 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock to start this year. His 11.3% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 32.2% of batters faced and kept 47.1% of balls in play on the ground. His big league track record is more middling, with a 4.60 ERA, 25% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 34.9% ground ball rate in 117 1/3 innings, but the Guards will see if his hot start this year can be carried over.

That will unfortunately lead to Velasquez losing his roster spot without pitching in a game. His last major league appearance was almost two years ago now, occurring with the Pirates on May 27th of 2023. UCL surgery wiped out the rest of that season and his entire 2024.

He signed a minor league deal with the Guards coming into 2025 and started this year in Triple-A. He tossed 15 innings over four starts with an ERA of 6.00, a 14.7% strikeout rate and 21.3% walk rate. Those are awful numbers in a small sample but the club wanted a fresh arm earlier this week. Last Friday’s game was rained out, which led to a Saturday doubleheader, meaning Cleveland was to play 13 games in 12 days. They added Kolby Allard on Saturday and Velasquez on Tuesday, two arms capable of pitching multiple innings, but didn’t use Velasquez in any of the past three games.

Velasquez will likely be placed on waivers shortly. Based on his rough early-season numbers and recent injury absence, he will likely clear. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency instead.

If he ends up on the open market, he could perhaps re-sign with the Guardians or look for opportunities elsewhere. He has 763 2/3 career innings in the big leagues with a 4.88 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Guardians Acquire Matt Festa From Rangers

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1:57pm: Festa indeed had an opt-out opportunity in his minor league deal tomorrow, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It seems likely the Guardians will bring him to the big leagues soon, though the team has not yet announced as much.

9:35am: The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired right-hander Matt Festa from the Rangers in exchange for cash. Festa isn’t on the 40-man roster at the moment, although given the timing of the move, it’s fair to wonder whether this trade was prompted by an opt-out or upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Texas. If that’s the case, he’ll likely be selected to the major league roster in the next day or two.

Festa, 32, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons between the Mariners, Mets and Rangers. He carries a career 4.60 ERA in 117 1/3 MLB frames, during which he’s punched out one-quarter of his opponents and issued walks at a 10.3% clip. Festa has shown promise at times, most notably with the 2022 Mariners, but he’s yet to find consistency in the majors. Injuries have played a notable role, particularly a 2020 Tommy John procedure that wiped out his entire season and sidelined him for most of the 2021 campaign as well.

Entering the 2024-25 offseason, Festa was on the Rangers’ 40-man roster. He lost his spot when Texas signed Chris Martin. The Cubs picked him up in exchange for cash following that DFA. Chicago ultimately designated Festa for assignment as well, after which he cleared waivers, elected free agency and returned to the Rangers on a minor league deal.

Festa is now Cleveland-bound and will head to the Guards on the heels of a dominant showing in Triple-A. The right-hander has rattled off 14 2/3 shutout innings, striking out 32.3% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate. Festa has kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 47.1% clip and done a terrific job avoiding hard contact (85.9 mph average exit velocity, 23.5% hard-hit rate). He hasn’t made any big changes to his arsenal or seen a noticeable change in velocity, but the results are impressive nonetheless.

Cleveland’s bullpen has been solid but not up to its usual level of excellence. Guardians relievers have combined for a 3.72 ERA, and that includes three rough innings from position players Austin Hedges and Will Wilson in mop-up work. However, former All-Stars Emmanuel Clase and Paul Sewald have both struggled, with each sporting an earned run average north of 6.00.

Quality contributions from Cade Smith, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Jakob Junis have helped to offset those troubles, and Festa could soon get a crack at chipping in himself. The Guardians currently have veterans Vince Velasquez and Kolby Allard in the bullpen, both of whom signed minor league deals. Neither can be optioned to Triple-A, but their presence speaks to the unsettled nature of Cleveland’s final couple bullpen spots.

Rangers Release Nick Ahmed, Re-Sign Hunter Strickland To Minors Deal

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The Rangers announced this evening that they’ve released shortstop Nick Ahmed. In addition, they’ve re-signed right-hander Hunter Strickland to a minor league deal after Strickland was himself released by the club yesterday. The news comes not long after president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters (including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry) that a group of eight non-roster veterans had been informed they would not be making the Opening Day roster. Aside from Ahmed, that list includes Adrian Houser, JT Chargois, Joe Barlow, David Buchanan, Tucker Barnhart, Chad Wallach, and Matt Festa. While the specific contract situations aren’t known for all of those players, Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports writes that the Rangers won’t block any non-roster invitee from pursuing a big league opportunity elsewhere should they so desire.

So far, Ahmed appears to be the only player in that group to take the Rangers up on that and seek his release. The 35-year-old veteran spent the first ten seasons of his career in Arizona, winning two Gold Glove awards during that time and serving mostly as a capable glove-first option at shortstop for the Diamondbacks. Ahmed began to struggle with injuries and ineffectiveness later in his tenure with the club, however, and appeared in just 89 games with a .216/.258/.332 (58 wRC+) slash line in 264 trips to the plate between the 2022 and ’23 seasons. That led Ahmed to hit the open market for the first time in his career last winter, and he ultimately spent the 2024 campaign bouncing around the other contending NL West clubs with 52 games in San Francisco, 17 with the Dodgers, and two as a Padre.

Ahmed’s numbers at the plate last year were once again lackluster, as he hit a paltry .229/.267/.295 overall with a 59 wRC+, though he provided steady defense in L.A. and San Diego amid injuries to incumbent shortstops Mookie Betts and Ha-Seong Kim. If a club suffers an injury at shortstop, it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine him finding a role with a big league club as a glove-first placeholder, though it’s also possible he’ll simply search for a minor league opportunity with a club that’s less settled at shortstop than the Rangers, for whom Corey Seager is entrenched as an everyday player.

As for Strickland, the veteran of ten MLB seasons has had an up-and-down career. The righty debuted in 2014 with the Giants and dominated out of the bullpen with a 2.64 ERA and 3.15 FIP over his first four years in the big leagues, but things took a turn for the worse after that. In three seasons split between the Giants, Mets, Mariners, and Nationals, Strickland posted a brutal 4.68 ERA and 4.92 FIP, both well below league average figures. He enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in 2021, pitching to a solid 2.61 ERA across 57 appearances for the Rays, Angels, and Brewers, but struggled for the Reds in 2022 and did not pitch in the majors the following year. He returned to the big leagues for Anaheim last year and posted a solid enough 3.31 ERA, though his 4.45 FIP and issues with the long ball (ten homers allowed in 73 1/3 innings) both left much to be desired. Now that he’s back in the fold, he’ll stick with the Rangers as a non-roster depth option headed into the season.

As for the other players besides Ahmed told they will not be making the team today, the most notable among those is Houser, who appeared to be in the mix for the club’s rotation after injuries sidelined Cody Bradford and Jon Gray. The club signed Patrick Corbin to a big league deal so he could serve as rotation depth, but with Corbin not expected to be ready for Opening Day the exclusion of Houser from the big league rotation would seemingly leave the final two rotation jobs behind Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle for youngsters Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker despite uneven spring performances from both former first-round picks.

Rangers Sign Matt Festa To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced that they have signed right-hander Matt Festa to a minor league deal. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Festa, 32 in March, spent the latter half of the 2024 season with the Rangers. He was selected to the roster in August and tossed 22 2/3 innings for them in what remained of the schedule, allowing 4.37 earned runs per nine. His 25% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate were both a bit better than average.

Despite that decent showing, he was bumped off the roster last month, getting designated for assignment when Texas signed Chris Martin. He was flipped to the Cubs for cash but only lasted a few weeks with that team. The Cubs gave him the DFA treatment to open a roster spot when they acquired Ryan Pressly.

Festa cleared waivers and was outrighted by the Cubs to Triple-A Iowa. Players with at least one previous career outright, such as Festa, have the right to reject another outright assignment in favor of free agency. It appears that he did indeed elect free agency and has circled back to the Rangers.

He now has 117 1/3 major league innings under his belt with a 4.60 ERA. His 10.3% career walk rate is a tad high but he has paired that with a strong 25% strikeout rate. The Rangers have been trying to bolster their bullpen on the cheap this winter. They lost Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and Andrew Chafin to free agency at season’s end. That gave them a lot of work to do but they have had a clear goal of avoiding the competitive balance tax this winter.

They acquired Robert Garcia, who has not yet qualified for arbitration, in the Nathaniel Lowe deal. They have signed Martin, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong and Hoby Milner to one-year deals, each worth less than $6MM. They have given minor league deals to Jesse Chavez, Codi Heuer, Patrick Murphy and now Festa. If Festa gets added to the roster at any point, he is out of options but has just over two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.

Cubs Outright Matt Festa

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The Cubs outrighted reliever Matt Festa off the 40-man roster, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Chicago designated him for assignment last week as the corresponding move when they finalized the Ryan Pressly trade. Festa has been outrighted before in his career, so he can choose to decline the minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

If he does elect free agency, Festa’s time with the Cubs will have lasted less than a month. They acquired him from the Rangers for cash in the second week of January. Texas had also squeezed him off the roster as the corresponding move when they added a veteran reliever — in their case, Chris Martin on a one-year free agent deal.

Festa, 32 next month, has spent the bulk of his career with the Mariners. He posted a 4.32 earned run average across 89 appearances over four seasons with Seattle. Festa has bounced around the league in recent months. He made a lone MLB appearance with the Mets early last season and pitched 18 times for Texas after catching on there via minor league deal. He allowed a 4.37 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in Arlington. He punched out a quarter of opponents against a solid 7.6% walk rate.

While Festa has shown decent swing-and-miss stuff during his MLB career, his command has been inconsistent. He has issued free passes to 10.3% of batters faced overall. Festa is out of options, limiting the roster flexibility for teams. If he elects free agency, he’ll likely be limited to minor league offers with Spring Training invites.

Cubs Designate Matt Festa For Assignment

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The Cubs announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Festa for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to new closer Ryan Pressly, whose acquisition from the Astros has now been officially announced by both teams.

A former seventh-round pick by the Rangers, Festa has bounced around the league in journeyman fashion over the past few years. He broke into the majors with a strong rookie showing in a small sample of 8 1/3 innings for the 2018 Mariners and posted terrific Triple-A numbers the following season while also struggling in 22 MLB frames. Tommy John surgery wiped out Festa’s entire 2020 campaign and most of his 2021 season as well.

Festa returned in 2022 to throw 54 solid innings out of the Seattle ’pen, logging a 4.17 ERA but with a terrific 29.2% strikeout rate against a solid 8.2% walk rate. He’s never been a particularly hard thrower, but that blend of inducing whiffs and limiting walks showed genuine promise. Injuries popped up again in 2023, however. Festa was limited to nine big league innings and just 34 frames in Triple-A. He walked an alarming 27.9% of his opponents in the majors, prompting him to be cut loose from Seattle’s roster at season’s end.

Festa latched on with the Padres on a minor league deal in the offseason. He wound up landing with the Mets and Rangers on subsequent minor league deals and pitching well enough to earn a decent major league look in Texas, where he tossed 22 2/3 innings of 4.17 ERA ball with a 25% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate. His lone appearance with the Mets (four runs in one inning) ballooned his ERA to 5.70 on the season, but Festa was a solid enough middle relief arm with the Rangers that the Cubs picked him up for cash earlier this winter when he was designated for assignment by Texas.

The Cubs will now have five days to trade Festa themselves. If there’s no taker, he’ll be placed on outright waivers. He’s been outrighted once in the past, so if Festa does clear, he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency if he chooses.

Cubs Acquire Matt Festa

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The Cubs have acquired right-hander Matt Festa from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced. Festa was designated for assignment by the Rangers earlier this week to accommodate the signing of Chris Martin. To make room for Festa on the 40-man roster, the Cubs have designated utility man Miles Mastrobuoni for assignment.

Festa, 31, was a seventh-round pick by the Mariners back in 2016. The righty looked good during his first cup of coffee at the big league level back in 2018, but a subsequent cameo with the Mariners in 2019 saw him struggle badly with a 5.64 ERA in 20 appearances. That would be his last taste of big league action for a couple of years, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and next pitched for the Mariners during the 2022 season. He was more or less an average middle reliever for Seattle over the next two seasons, with a 4.14 ERA (91 ERA+) and 4.48 FIP in 63 innings of work before he was designated for assignment and eventually released late in the 2023 season.

That led into a one-year period where Festa bounced around a number of different teams in the league. After being picked up on a minor league deal with the Padres last January, Festa did not crack the club’s big league roster out of Spring Training and pitched to a solid but unspectacular 4.50 ERA in 16 innings before San Diego granted him his release in mid-May. He signed with the Mets on a minor league deal just a few days later and was selected to the club’s big league roster in the late June, but found himself torched for five runs (four earned) in his lone inning of work with the club before he was once again cut loose. That led him to sign his third minor league deal of the year, this time with the Rangers, in early July.

After being added to the Rangers roster for the stretch run back in August, Festa pitched solidly enough with a 4.37 ERA (92 ERA+) and a strong 3.34 FIP. He posted some of the best strikeout and walk numbers he’s ever enjoyed at the big league level during his time in Texas as he punched out 25% of opponents while allowing free passes at a 7.6% clip. His peripheral numbers were something of a mixed bag during that time; while his .254 BABIP and 5.9% home-run-to-fly-ball rate both erred on the side of good fortune, Festa’s 54.1% strand rate was extremely low and suggested some bad luck when it came to sequencing.

It was an interesting enough profile for the Rangers to keep him on the 40-man roster early in the winter, but he became expendable once the club added a number of more reliable relief arms to their bullpen throughout the offseason. Now, he’ll head to Chicago with a chance to compete for a role in the Cubs’ bullpen this Spring. Currently, Chicago’s relief corps includes fellow offseason trade addition Eli Morgan, free agent signing Caleb Thielbar, and a handful of internal options such as Porter Hodge, Julian Merryweather, Luke Little, Tyson Miller, and Nate Pearson. It’s a group with plenty of flexibility but few set-in-stone options, and it would hardly be a surprise to see the Cubs continue to search for bullpen upgrades going forward this winter.

To bring Festa into the fold, the Cubs are risking parting ways with Mastrobuoni. The utility man has played adequate defense all over the diamond for Chicago in each of the past two seasons but has failed to establish himself offensively ever since being acquired from the Rays prior to the 2023 season. In 255 trips to the plate with the Cubs in 110 games over the past two years, Mastrobuoni has hit just .221/.282/.268. While his 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts and his ability to play the outfield corners, shortstop, second and third base have helped him provide value outside the batters’ box, that anemic slash line makes it easy to see why the club would decide to move on.

Even without Mastrobuoni in the fold, the Cubs figure to have plenty internal depth available in terms of utility players who can hit from the left side, with recent acquisition Vidal Bruján and Rule 5 Draft selection Gage Workman both currently in the mix for a bench job in 2025. Going forward, Chicago will have one week to either trade Mastrobuoni or place him on waivers. It’s not impossible to imagine a club bringing Mastrobuoni, who has a minor league option remaining, into the fold as optionable depth. Should he clear waivers, the Cubs will have the opportunity to outright him to Triple-A as a non-roster depth option for the 2025 campaign.

Rangers Sign Chris Martin

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Jan. 7: Martin’s deal with the Rangers guarantees him $5.5MM, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Murray adds that Martin turned down more money from other clubs to return to his hometown club for what’ll be the final season of his career. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox were one team that made a more lucrative offer.

Jan. 6: The Rangers announced the signing of veteran reliever Chris Martin to a one-year deal. Financial terms remain unreported. Martin is represented by ISE Baseball. Texas designated Matt Festa for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Martin, an Arlington native, heads home for what’ll likely be his final season. The 38-year-old righty said in September that he’s 95% confident he’ll retire after 2025. That’s not because of a dip in effectiveness. Martin remains a capable high-leverage arm and is coming off a strong two-year run in Boston.

The Red Sox inked Martin to a $17.5MM free agent deal over the 2022-23 offseason. It was a bit of a gamble considering his age, but the nine-year MLB veteran made good on that investment within one season. Martin turned in a dazzling 1.05 earned run average across 51 1/3 innings in 2023. He earned a couple down-ballot Cy Young votes in the process.

Last season was more good than dominant. Martin worked to a 3.45 ERA while throwing 44 1/3 innings. He had a brief injured list stint related to anxiety in the middle of June. Martin also missed a month with elbow inflammation between early July and the first week of August. He returned with 10 innings and only one earned run over the next couple weeks before allowing six runs in eight September frames.

Martin was almost certainly not going to manage an ERA around 1.00 in consecutive seasons. His strikeout and walk profile actually improved last year. He fanned 27.8% of batters faced after running a 23.1% strikeout rate in 2023. Martin cut his already pristine walk rate from 4% to a career-low 1.7% clip. He’s arguably the best strike-thrower in the majors. No pitcher with at least 100 innings over the last three seasons has issued walks at a lower rate than Martin (2.6%).

Over his two seasons with the Sox, Martin managed a 2.16 ERA across 95 1/3 innings. He has found success at every stop since returning from a stint in Japan between 2016-17. That includes a previous run in Texas. The Rangers were the team that gave Martin a chance during the 2017-18 offseason. He combined for 79 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA ball before being traded to the Braves at the 2019 deadline.

Texas has loaded on up on short-term additions to fix a bullpen that could lose each of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and José Ureña. They’ve signed Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner on one-year contracts worth $2.5MM or less. Texas also brought in southpaw Robert Garcia from Washington in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. While finances on Martin are unreported, it’s fair to assume he’ll be the most expensive of Chris Young’s bullpen acquisitions to this point. Still, there’s limited downside with a one-year deal.

Martin is the most experienced of the Texas relievers. He has worked in a setup capacity throughout his career and has never saved more than four games in a season. It’s unclear if the Rangers plan for him to close or will use him in leverage spots. Yates and Robertson have far more closing experience and are still free agents. Whatever the role, Martin adds much needed stability to a bullpen that might still be the team’s biggest question.

Texas signed Festa, 31, to a minor league deal last season. The Rangers selected his contract in August. He made 18 appearances over the final six weeks, working to a 4.37 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. The righty had made a brief appearance for the Mets earlier in the year. He has spent the bulk of his career with the Mariners, with whom he posted a 4.32 ERA in 89 outings over four seasons. Texas will have five days to trade Festa or place him on waivers.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Select Matt Festa, DFA Brock Burke

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The Rangers have selected right-hander Matt Festa’s contract from Triple-A Round Rock, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team has designated left-hander Brock Burke for assignment. In a pair of additional transactions, Texas placed right-hander Josh Sborz on the 15-day IL and recalled left-hander Walter Pennington from Triple-A.

Burke, 28, has struggled mightily this season. After getting off to a rough start in April, he missed two months with a fractured hand. He didn’t look sharp upon his return either, and the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A at the end of June. He was recalled earlier this month and continued to struggle. Overall, he has a 9.22 ERA and 4.30 SIERA in 13 appearances in the majors this season. He also has a 5.31 ERA in 16 appearances at Triple-A. The Rangers have little margin for error as they attempt to gain ground in the AL West, and evidently, they decided they could no longer afford to keep Burke on the roster. He showed tremendous promise in 2022 (1.97 ERA, 3.05 SIERA in 82 1/3 innings), but he has not been able to recapture that success over the past two years.

Festa, 31, does not have much of a track record in the major leagues; he has a 4.66 ERA and 3.96 SIERA over 90 games with the Mariners and Mets from 2018-24. However, he has looked sharp at Triple-A this year, with a 2.70 ERA and 3.10 FIP over 33 games in the Padres, Mets, and Rangers’ systems. He signed a minor league contract with Texas back in July and re-upped with the team after he was released in August.

Sborz, 30, was a postseason hero last fall, but he has, unfortunately, struggled with shoulder injuries in his follow-up campaign. He has a 3.38 ERA and 3.28 SIERA in 16 innings of work, but this is now his third trip to the IL. Pennington, 26, has made two brief appearances this season. He made his MLB debut for the Royals in July, facing two batters and recording two outs. Not long after, he was included in the trade that sent Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City. Pennington made his Rangers debut in August, and the results weren’t quite as strong. He gave up a solo home run and walked three batters over a single inning of work. He has a 2.13 ERA and 3.27 across 63 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year.

The Rangers have taxed their bullpen heavily over the second half of the season as they continue to deal with injuries to the starting rotation. Jon Gray and Max Scherzer both hit the IL just before the trade deadline and, most recently, Nathan Eovaldi has dealt with tightness in his right side. Grant notes that his next start, which would have been scheduled for Thursday against the Twins, will be pushed back or skipped entirely. José Ureña will remain in the rotation for the time being, and Grant suggests Dane Dunning will likely re-join the rotation on Wednesday to fill an open space caused by Saturday’s doubleheader. It is unclear who will start for Texas in Eovaldi’s place on Thursday.

Rangers Sign Matt Festa To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Matt Festa to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The righty, who elected free agency last week, has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Festa, 31, started the year on a minor league deal with the Padres. He tossed 16 innings for their Triple-A club with a 4.50 earned run average, 21.6% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. Those peripherals were all fairly close to average but a .360 batting average on balls in play helped push some more runs across, with his 3.43 FIP painting a nicer picture of his work with the Chihuahuas.

The righty was released by the Padres in mid-May, which was perhaps the results of an opt-out since his numbers with El Paso weren’t bad. He then landed another minor league deal, this one with the Mets, and posted even better numbers. In 15 1/3 Triple-A frames with Syracuse, he had a 1.76 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 45.7% ground ball rate.

He was called up to join a struggling Mets bullpen but his one outing with that club was a disaster. On June 30, the Mets and Astros were tied at five after 10 innings and Festa was sent to the mound in the 11th. The inning started with Alex Bregman as the free runner on second, then the Mets intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez. Festa went on to surrender four hits in the inning from there, allowing Bregman and four others to score as the Mets lost 10-5.

He was designated for assignment a few days later and elected free agency after clearing waivers, which was his right as a player with a previous career outright. He has now landed his third minor league deal of the year, this time with the Rangers.

The relief corps in Texas has a combined 4.37 ERA on the year, which places them 22nd in the majors. Festa will give them a non-roster depth arm with some major league experience. He has 94 2/3 big league innings on his track record with a 4.66 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. If he gets added to their roster, he is out of options but has between one and two years of service time, meaning he can be retained beyond the current campaign if he finishes the year on the roster.

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