Tony Cingrani Generating Interest

Left-hander Tony Cingrani has shown flashes of promise since he made his major league debut with the Reds in 2012, but injuries have knocked his career off course in recent years. Cingrani, who most recently took a big league mound with the Dodgers in 2018, totaled just 22 2/3 innings that year and then didn’t pitch in the bigs at all last season. He underwent shoulder surgery in June, and the Dodgers traded Cingrani to the Cardinals in July. That was a financially motivated move on the part of both teams, though, as the Cards knew he wouldn’t pitch for them in 2019.

Just under seven months after Cingrani went to St. Louis, he remains one of the southpaw relievers left on the free-agent market. The 30-year-old might not be without a team for much longer, however. Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that Cingrani’s “drawing a ton of interest.” It’s not clear which clubs are after Cingrani, nor is it known how healthy he is right now.

A starting option during the early portion of his career, Cingrani transitioned to the bullpen on a full-time basis in 2015. As a reliever, he owns a 4.27 ERA/4.19 FIP with 10.08 K/9 and 4.68 BB/9 across 175 innings. Those aren’t sparkling numbers overall, but in his most recent MLB action two years ago, Cingrani did strike out 14.0-plus hitters per nine and post a sub-3.0 BB/9, averaging just under 94 mph on his fastball along the way. With so few intriguing relief choices left in free agency, someone figures to take a low-risk flier on Cingrani if he’s nearing a return to health.