The Guardians have signed right-hander Luis Frias to a minor league cope with an invitation to large league Spring Coaching, per a membership announcement.
Frias, 27 in Could, signed with the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic as an novice and made his professional debut again in 2016. After slowly making his approach by way of the decrease ranges of the minors in his early years with the membership, Frias shortly rose from Excessive-A all the way in which to Triple-A through the 2021 season. Whereas he struggled to a 4.93 ERA in 23 begins throughout three ranges of the minors that 12 months, that didn’t cease Arizona from giving Frias his first large league alternative down the stretch. He pitched pretty properly in that temporary cup of espresso, with a 2.70 ERA and three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of labor, although his 5 walks represented a transparent pink flag concerning how his command would play on the large league degree.
These management points manifested within the type of a brutal 2022 season. Frias’s sophomore marketing campaign within the desert scarcely might have gone worse, as he posted a ten.59 ERA in 17 large league innings of labor whereas as soon as once more strolling (17) extra batters than he struck out (14). His 3.99 ERA at Triple-A supplied some degree of optimism, although even that was held again by a 12.3% stroll charge on the degree. Regardless of his struggles, Frias’s tantalizing stuff was sufficient to persuade Arizona to maintain him within the fold for 2023, and he delivered the very best season of his profession in return. Although he walked 12.2% of opponents within the majors that 12 months, Frias posted a 4.07 ERA that was 9% higher than common by measure of ERA+ in 31 innings of labor. His 18.7% strikeout charge was lackluster, however when it comes to pure run prevention his outcomes have been these of a superbly enough center reliever.
Sadly, Frias’s efficiency went again off the rails in 2024. In 13 MLB appearances break up between the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays, the right-hander struggled to a 13.97 ERA and 5.55 FIP whereas recording simply 9 2/3 whole innings of labor. Issues even appeared dire on the Triple-A degree throughout his time in Arizona, as he posted a lackluster 4.88 ERA for the membership’s affiliate in Reno. Happily for Frias, nevertheless, he dominated at Triple-A late within the 12 months after being plucked off waivers from the Snakes. He posted a 0.96 ERA and a 27.9% strikeout charge for his new membership’s Buffalo affiliate, and whereas that wasn’t sufficient to persuade the Jays to maintain him on their 40-man roster this winter it was evidently sufficient to earn Frias a glance from the Guardians this winter.
Whereas Frias isn’t more likely to break camp as a part of a crowded Cleveland bullpen, he’ll now have the chance to work with one of many league’s finest pitching improvement organizations in hopes of additional harnessing his potential and finding out his command going ahead. Within the meantime, he’ll function a non-roster depth choice for the Guardians out of the bullpen who could possibly be known as upon within the occasion of an harm.
