The conclusion of an interesting three week stretch for 22-year-old outfielder Gabby Guerrero has culminated in his re-signing with the Cincinnati Reds on a minor league deal according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Reds re-sign Gaby Guerrero on a minor league deal
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) December 4, 2016
Buchanan, by the way, will be the Enquirer’s representative at the Winter Meetings, so be sure to keep an eye on his twitter feed throughout the week for updates.
Guerrero was designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks on November 18th and was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds and joined the organization on November 28th and was placed on the 40-man roster. That lasted for less than a week as the Reds then non-tendered him at the non-tender deadline, making him a free agent on Friday. That, too, didn’t last long as he is back with the organization on a minor league deal.
Bringing Gabby Guerrero back on a minor league deal is a very good move. While I did think it was strange to think he was worth adding to the 40-man roster given just how much he’s struggled above A-ball in the minor leagues, as a minor leaguer who isn’t taking up a 40-man spot or using options, keeping him in the organization and hoping he can take a step forward to let his raw tools play seems like a smart plan.
Guerrero has big time raw power and he’s a good defender in the corners. His walk rate in Triple-A jumped up to a solid rate, 8.2%, which was the best he’d had since rookie ball. His strikeout rate was just under 23% as well. It didn’t translate to improvements in the numbers he posted though, as his power actually dropped off significantly and he still hit .212. Still, if he can maintain that walk rate it’s likely to help him get better pitches to hit in the long run, which should eventually result in better offensive numbers. There’s not much risk in bringing him back on a minor league deal, and the reward could be a good one if he begins to put things together at the plate.