The Blue Jays have signed left-hander Amir Garrett to a minor league deal, based on Johnny Giunta of the Gate 14 Podcast. Garrett will earn a assure within the “low seven figures” if he makes Toronto’s lively roster, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. Garrett has been on the open market since final August, when he was launched by the Angels.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Garrett tossed a career-low 5 1/3 innings within the Present in 2024, as he spent nearly all of the season with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate. The southpaw inked a minors cope with the Giants a yr in the past however was launched close to the top of Spring Coaching, after which shortly caught on with Los Angeles on one other minor league contract simply previous to Opening Day. Chosen to the Angels’ lively roster on the finish of April, Garrett had a 5.06 ERA in his transient stint in Anaheim earlier than he was designated for project and launched in mid-Might, solely to quickly rejoin the Angels on one other minors deal.
Management issues have lengthy plagued Garrett’s profession, however he saved the walks in examine alongside sufficient to ship some good outcomes out of the Reds’ bullpen through the 2018-20 seasons. It appeared like the previous prime prospect had carved out a distinct segment for himself as a reliever, however issues then went sideways, as Garrett has posted a 5.06 ERA and 15.7% stroll charge over 122 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021.
Garrett’s mid-90’s velocity and strikeout potential continues to be obvious, as he additionally has a 27.2% strikeout charge in his final 4 seasons of huge league work. However, his stroll charges have solely continued to extend, and Garrett has additionally had bother protecting the ball within the park. The lefty’s minor league numbers weren’t too promising, as he had a 5.08 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake in 2024, although with at the very least a greater (10.6%) stroll charge and a powerful 28.5K%.
Garrett turns 33 in Might, so it stays to be seen if he can really harness his management at this later stage in his profession. If he can restrict his walks to even a satisfactory quantity, the Blue Jays can definitely use such a pitcher of their bullpen combine, significantly since Brendon Little is the one southpaw projected to be a part of the reduction corps. Easton Lucas, Josh Walker, and one other minor league signing in Richard Lovelady are additionally in Toronto’s camp battling for a possible bullpen spot if the Jays decide to interrupt camp with a second left-handed reliever.
