Marlins ink Vladimir Gutierrez to minor league deal

[Kevin Barral]

The Miami Marlins continue to prioritize pitching and add the former Cincinnati Reds right-hander to provide more rotation depth.

Cuban pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez is coming to Marlins big league camp as a non-roster invitee, Francys Romero reported on Thursday night. Gutierrez's minor league deal adds more depth to an organization that already had a lot of quality starting pitching.

In 2021, Gutierrez spent most of his rookie campaign in the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation, posting a 4.76 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 6.9 K/9 and a 3.6 BB/9 through 114 innings pitched. He even received a third-place vote for National League Rookie of the Year, placing eighth in the overall voting.

The right-hander struggled in 2022, throwing only 36 ⅔ innings with a 7.61 ERA, 6.82 FIP, 7.1 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He came back from injury late last season and made rehab appearances between rookie ball and AAA, but never got called up. He was eventually DFA'd and elected minor league free agency.

On January 24, Gutierrez threw a live BP in front of representatives from 10-15 MLB teams and one of them was from the Marlins. A month later, they have finalized an agreement with each other.

In previous MLB action, Gutierrez had an average fastball velocity of about 93 mph, but that was up to 94-96 mph during his showcase at FIU, reports Francys Romero. Along with the fastball, the 28-year-old has a slider (83-84 mph), curveball (76-77 mph) and a changeup (81-84 mph).

At the end, it seemed as if the Marlins and Chicago Cubs were the finalists for Gutierrez. He went with the team that is closest to home for him.

There is some potential long-term upside for the Marlins here. They could have club control over Gutierrez all the way through the 2027 season via arbitration if they are satisfied with his production.

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[Hans Herrera]

At this point, almost any minor-league deal is welcomed. Good potential and depth piece. Low-case: Stays in AAA the entire season. High-case: 2024's Cueto with a 5.00-ish ERA in 10 starts.

Is the bar that low when it comes to signing players? I mean, are we sure we don't need to sign an MLB-proven SP (hello, Odorizzi/Lorenzen)?

[Ely Sussman]

2 hours ago, Hans Herrera said:

At this point, almost any minor-league deal is welcomed. Good potential and depth piece. Low-case: Stays in AAA the entire season. High-case: 2024's Cueto with a 5.00-ish ERA in 10 starts.

Is the bar that low when it comes to signing players? I mean, are we sure we don't need to sign an MLB-proven SP (hello, Odorizzi/Lorenzen)?

As you may have heard, Braxton Garrett is a little behind schedule because of shoulder soreness. If he has any kind of setback when trying to throw off a mound, that might be the cue to bring in somebody who's proven.