The Cincinnati Reds signed three minor leaguers to deals and re-signed two more. The team officially signed right handed pitchers Tim Melville and Dayan Diaz. They also brought in first baseman Brandon Allen, while re-signing infielders Jermaine Curtis and Hernan Iribarren.
#Reds sign 1B Brandon Allen and RHPs Dayan Diaz & Tim Melville to minors deals. Also re-signed 3B Jermaine Curtis & 2B Hernan Iribarren
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) November 30, 2015
I wrote on Friday that the Reds were close to signing Tim Melville and how a late season run could be a good sign for things to come from the Royals former top prospect.
The other right handed pitcher that the team signed was Dayan Diaz. The 26-year-old is coming off of an outstanding season in the Red Sox system where he posted a 1.73 ERA, mostly in Triple-A (15.2 innings in Double-A). He worked mostly as a multi-inning reliever, throwing 72.2 innings over 37 appearances with 30 walks and 66 strikeouts. Diaz is currently playing winter ball in Venezuela for Lara. He’s posted a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings with four walks and eight strikeouts. He’s a bit undersized, just 5′ 10″ and 190 lbs, but he’s got a big arm. His fastball works in the 92-96 MPH range and he brings a solid slider in the low-to-mid 80’s with him as well.
The other new addition to the system is first baseman Brandon Allen. He has some big league experience, seeing limited time from 2009-2012 with the Diamondbacks, Athletics and Rays where he hit .203/.290/.375 in 389 plate appearances. Allen spent the 2015 season in Triple-A with the Mets in the Pacific Coast League. The 29-year-old hit .273/.350/.478 in 466 plate appearances with 29 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 51 walks and 92 strikeouts.
The organization also re-signed infielders Jermaine Curtis and Hernan Iribarren. Both spent their seasons with the Louisville Bats in 2015. Curtis hit .273/.362/.344 with 21 walks and had 25 strikeouts in 260 plate appearances. The 28-year-old split his time between second and third base with the Bats. Iribarren saw more playing time in 2015, hitting .256/.324/.305 in 458 plate appearances. He played just about everywhere, getting into games at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and he even pitched in two games.