The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Rookie Davis to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB Spring Training.
Davis previously pitched for the Reds, where he made a brief appearance in the majors in 2017, putting up an 8.63 ERA in 24 innings over seven appearances, with six starts. He had a 24:14 K/BB ratio during that time. His struggles in Triple-A have been similar, with a 5.87 ERA in 84.1 innings, along with a 69:20 K/BB ratio.
Davis has been a starter his entire career. He’s a big framed guy at 6′ 5″, 255 pounds, although he hasn’t thrown extremely hard, topping out at 96 and averaging around 92-93 in his brief time in the majors. It would be interesting to see if he fares better as a reliever, and if his velocity would tick up with his stuff becoming more effective in shorter outings.
