The Athletics have signed right-handed reliever Deolis Guerra to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training, the team announced.
Guerra, 32 in April, put up decent numbers with the Angels back in 2016-17 — 78 1/3 innings, 3.68 ERA, 17.8 percent strikeout rate, 5.8 percent walk rate — but he’s received few opportunities in the big leagues since that time. He spent the 2018 season with the Rangers and pitched well in Triple-A but didn’t get a call to the Majors. He was hit hard in a combined 10 games between the Brewers and Phillies in 2019-20.
Overall, Guerra owns a lackluster 4.81 ERA in 103 Major League innings, though his 3.94 SIERA is a bit more promising. His career 18.8 percent strikeout rate is noticeably south of the MLB average at this point, but his career 5.4 percent walk rate is better than average as well. Guerra has appeared in parts of eight Triple-A seasons and pitched to a strong 3.36 ERA through 343 frames there, carrying a much stronger strikeout rate (26.8 percent) with a slightly higher walk rate (6.9 percent) than he’s had in the big leagues.
Given the turnover in the Oakland bullpen, Guerra could have an opportunity to win a spot this spring. Closer Liam Hendriks has already signed with the White Sox, while each of Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria and T.J. McFarland are free agents.