The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the signing of seven minor league free agents through a team press release. Four of the signings we already knew about, as the official announcement was made on Darren Ford, Jared Goedert, Anderson Hernandez, and Stefan Welch. The Pirates also signed right-handed pitcher Ryan Reid, and re-signed infielder Jeff Larish and left-handed pitcher Kris Johnson. Ford, Goedert, Hernandez, Reid, and Johnson all received non-roster invites to Spring Training.
Reid spent the 2012 season in Tampa Bay’s organization. The 27-year-old had a 3.52 ERA in 79.1 innings last year in Triple-A, along with a 9.0 K/9 and a 3.2 BB/9 ratio. Most of that time was spent in the bullpen, although Reid made three starts.
Larish was signed by the Pirates last year, and spent time in Indianapolis. In 181 at-bats in Triple-A he had a .182/.308/.298 line.
Johnson spent the 2012 season in the Pirates’ organization, moving between Double-A and Triple-A, and making a few starts at each level. He had a 2.09 ERA in 56 innings in Double-A, and a 4.53 ERA in 45.2 innings in Triple-A.
Of the new names, Reid is the most interesting due to his high strikeout and walk ratios. He could provide the team with some bullpen depth. Larish and Johnson are upper level organizational guys.
+ postsTim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.
“Four of the signings we already knew about”
Actually, this site reported the resigning of Kris Johnson
http://18.206.184.11/2012/09/minor-moves-pirates-re-sign-kris-johnson.html
Why is the team relying on all of these organizational guys after all the strong trades and drafts that Huntington has had. 5 years in I’m surprised we even need these guys thanks to The Best Management Team In Baseball.
Pretty much every Triple-A team has guys who are minor league lifers serving as insurance policies you hope you never have to cash in.
What a sweet gig that still must be. Has to be kind of disheartening when you get to 27 or 28 and realize its just never going to happen. Then again, thats a lot longer than most guys get. Either way, with that amount of experience, unless the player is just completely over the game, they could probably show up to just about any college and get a coaching job, or stay in the minors, or even be a private instructor.
Every team in the majors makes these types of moves, no matter how strong their system.
Ryan Reid is a 5’11” RH reliever who has averaged over a K an inning in the Tampa Bay org.
However, he has NEVER cracked their Top 30 prospect list going back to 2009.
Sounds like minor league org filler?
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