The Cincinnati Reds have been pretty slow this offseason with minor league signings. And they’ve also made very few of them. But another one did just pop up on the transaction wire. Cincinnati picked up left-handed pitcher Drew Parrish on a minor league deal.
Parrish was drafted in the 8th round by the Kansas City Royals back in 2019 out of Florida State. He remained in the Royals organization until the end of the 2023 season when he was released after spending much of his season in Triple-A where he posted a 7.18 ERA that season.
It didn’t take long before the Atlanta Braves brought him in on a minor league deal – signing him in the first week of minor league free agency last year. Much of his 2024 season was spent in Double-A with Mississippi where he threw 108.0 innings in 17 starts and 10 relief appearances. He also made one start in Triple-A with Gwinnett and one relief appearance there – covering 7.1 innings in total.
The then 26-year-old posted a 3.28 ERA on the season between his two stops, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Through June 20th he had made 13 starts and one relief appearance, throwing 69.1 innings in the process for Mississippi. On June 26th he came out of the bullpen for the first time since his first outing of the year and it seemed to help turn his season around. From that day forward most of his outings came in relief. He threw 46.0 innings during that stretch across 15 outings and posted a 2.15 ERA with nine walks and 47 strikeouts during that time.
The now 27-year-old isn’t likely to make too much noise as a signing – he was 26 last year and spent nearly the entire year in Double-A. His stuff isn’t exactly something to write home about, either, with a fastball that works 88-92 and ok-ish secondary stuff. But he showed some strong performance in the second half last season in a new role and he gives the Reds some depth in the minor leagues. They needed over 30 pitches last season in the big leagues. You never know how many guys you will need and who may be able to step up and fill in.
You can see the career stats for Drew Parrish here.
Retirement
Myles Gayman has decided to retire. Every spring there is a guy or two who decides to hang the cletes up and move onto whatever is next for them in life. Gayman signed with the Reds in 2020 as a free agent when the draft was shortened to just five rounds. He was solid in limited action in 2021 with the ACL Reds. In 2022 he was very good in Dayton, but struggled in the final month after being promoted to Double-A Chattanooga. During 2023 he returned to Dayton and once again pitched well.
The 2024 season saw him once again return to Dayton. Things didn’t go his way this time around as he struggled in 15 appearances. His final appearance came in late June before he was placed on the injured list with a pinched nerve in his back.
You can see the career stats for Myles Gayman here.
Hector Rodriguez with another multi-hit game
When Escogido took the field on Friday night for their playoff game in the Dominican Winter League, Hector Rodriguez was still in the dugout. The outfielder was not in the starting lineup, but he was not in the dugout for very long. He came off of the bench in the 2nd inning to take over for Luis Liberato in right field.
Rodriguez popped up in his first at-bat of the day. But he singled the next two times (including one that brought in a run) before being intentionally walked in the 8th inning by former Reds reliever Pedro Strop.
Héctor Rodríguez con el sencillo a la hora buena trae otra más para el @escogidobbclub ???#LIDOM #RoundRobinLIDOM #CopaBanreservas pic.twitter.com/cMsDOaC6Yk
— LIDOM (@LIDOMRD) January 11, 2025