Recent Minor League Free Agent Signings
A look at all the players that inked minor league pacts this week
It’s another Friday which means we get to look at more minor league players who have signed over the past week. As always, we are listing players whose signings have been made official via the transaction wire.
January 4th
The Tigers signed left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez. Vasquez was with the Tigers from August 6 onward last season after being claimed off of the waiver wire. Vazquez has always been a slider-heavy pitcher, and 2023 was no different, throwing the offering 81.8 percent of the time. Vasquez experimented with different fastballs last season, almost exclusively using a four-seamer for the first time in his major league career, but then went to the sinker after moving back to the Tigers, although in a much more limited sample size. Stuff+ models see his slider as a well above-average pitch and his barely-used change-up as also plus. It’s a low-risk bet by the Tigers that could pay off.
The Orioles signed undrafted free agent Dominic Freeberger to a minor league deal. The 23-year-old put up a career year with the UConn Huskies in 2023, hitting .346/.429/.484. While never being much of a power hitter, he vastly improved his ability to get on base in his final two collegiate seasons, raising his BB% from 4.5 in 2021 to 11.2 percent in 2022 and 11.4 percent in 2023. This will be the right-handed hitter’s first attempt at professional baseball. The Orioles have been successful at evaluating amateur talent since the Mike Elias era began, so I trust that they’ve seen something interesting in Freeberger to give him a shot.
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