The Reds have re-signed reliever Pedro Villarreal to a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. Villarreal could provide a depth option for a Reds bullpen that figures to look quite different in 2015 after the offseason losses of Aroldis Chapman, Manny Parra and Burke Badenhop.
The Reds non-tendered Villarreal last month after he posted a 3.42 ERA and 2.2 BB/9 in 50 innings last season. That line also included a medicore strikeout rate (5.2 K/9), and that inability to miss bats might have been part of the reason the Reds were willing to part with Villarreal even though he only had 1.034 years of service time and wasn’t yet arbitration eligible. By re-signing him, the Reds will get to keep him in the organization without using a roster spot or paying him a big-league salary, at least not for the time being.