Guardians sign Amir Garrett to minor-league deal

The Cleveland Guardians have agreed to terms on a minor-league deal with left-handed reliever Amir Garrett according to reports. This comes after Kansas City decided to part ways with the former Reds prospect.

Intersestingly enough, Garrett's last appearance for the Royals was against the Guardians on July 6th. The 31-year old lefty gave up two earned runs (four total) on two hits, both of which were home runs. Kansas City opted to designate him for assignment before ultimately releasing him about a week later ending his 87 game stint with the Royals.

Walks have been an issue more often than not for Garrrett, but 2023's 7.4 per nine innings is the worst rate in his career up to this point. In fact, his walk rate has increased every season going back to 2020, a season which now looks like an outlier when considering his overall body of work. 2020 saw Garrett finish with 26 strikeouts in 18.1 innings, leading to career-bests in ERA (2.45), WHIP (0.927), hits per nine (4.9), walks per nine (3.4). and strikeouts per nine (12.8). Garrett has had trouble replicating this performance which has ultimately led to him being with three organizations since.

The Guardians clearly see something that they believe that they can work with when it comes to Garrett, even though there are clear issues at the current moment. Perhaps the recent struggles and increased workload on their current relief arms has contributed to taking a chance on the veteran left-hander. There is no harm in giving Garrett an opportunity considering it is only a minor-league deal. Taking chances on players such as Garrett this time of year in this way allows a team to get an up-close look at someone that they otherwise may not get a chance to.

At the end of the day If things do not work out Cleveland can always part ways and look at other arms as potential options in their bullpen.