The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed left handed pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to a minor league deal, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. We heard the Pirates were interested in Reyes back in December.
Reyes is 27 yeas old has a career 6.05 ERA in 334.2 innings in the majors, with a 5.8 K/9, a 3.9 BB/9, and a 1.5 HR/9 ratio. He’s a good flier to take on a minor league deal. He was once a highly regarded prospect in Atlanta’s farm system. When he came in to the league in 2007, I thought he could become a left handed version of Ian Snell, back when that was a good thing. He combined for a 2.72 ERA in 109.1 innings between AA and AAA that year, along with a 9.1 K/9 and a 3.9 BB/9 ratio at the age of 22. I guess he did end up being the left handed version of Snell, although not in the way I figured he would be.
Reyes is still young enough to have a major league career. He has a career .736 OPS in the majors against left handers, so worst case he could be left handed relief depth. He will most likely pitch out of AAA in 2011.
