While Angels fans await a blockbuster move in free agency, the front office chalked up one more under-the-radar signing. The Angels and veteran right-handed pitcher Tayron Guerrero reportedly agreed on a minor league contract for the 2024 season.
Although Guerrero hasn't thrown a major league pitch in four years, he has been busy.
The 6-foot-8 flamethrower began the 2023 season with Triple-A Louisville, a Cincinnati Reds affiliate, but was released after posting an 11.51 ERA in 20 games. Guerrero issued 22 walks in 22.1 innings.
Since then, Guerrero has been pitching in Mexico. With Hermosillo of the Mexican Pacific Winter League, he has allowed only two runs and seven walks while striking out 26 batters in 16.1 innings.
Ostensibly, the latest chapter in Guerrero's once-promising career came with enough potential for the Angels to give him another look.
Guerrero spent time in five organizations after the San Diego Padres signed him out of Colombia as an amateur in 2009. He appeared in one game with the Padres in 2016, then was traded that summer to the Miami Marlins in a seven-player swap.
In 2018, Guerrero impressed many with his fastball, which topped out at 104 mph. At the time, only St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks and New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman were throwing harder.
Speed is only one component of pitching, and Guerrero failed to put it all together at the major league level. In 2019, Guerrero's ERA rose to 6.26 and command issues plagued him: in 52 games, he walked 36 batters and hit six others.
In four years since, Guerrero has bounced between the White Sox and the Reds organizations, then to Japan and back. In 2022, he posted a 3.52 ERA in 46 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines of NPB.
If his command issues are behind him, Guerrero will have a chance to turn heads in spring training.
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