The Cleveland Guardians have been operating below the radar for most of the offseason.
However, they made a rather interesting minor-league move on Wednesday.
As reported by Patrick Lyons, they signed RHP Riley Pint to a Minor League contract.
RHP Riley Pint signs a minor league deal with the Cleveland Guardians with an invite to big league camp.
Picked 4th in the 2016 MLB Draft, Pint made five appearances for the Rockies the past two seasons.
Pint, 27, was the 2024 Pitcher of the Year for Triple-A Albuquerque.
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) January 23, 2025
They also extended him an invite to the Minor League Depth camp this spring.
The Colorado Rockies took Pint with the no. 4 pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, and he’s spent his entire career with their organization.
However, he’s had little to no experience in the Majors.
He made his debut in 2023, but he’s only made five appearances overall, and he’s struggled significantly in that limited sample size.
Pint finished last year’s Minor League season with a 4.12 ERA, but his command was a major concern, as was his 1.627 WHIP.
He averaged almost one walk per inning, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.74.
Then again, there’s still hope for improvement, as Guardians Prospective reports that he’s added a cutter to his pitching arsenal.
While it might mess with his velocity, that should help with his command.
Cleveland #Guardians RHP reliever Riley Pint throwing off flat ground out at Premier Baseball KC this off-season.
Pint has added a cutter to his repertoire heading into the 2025 season.
In 2024 he struckout 70 batters over 41.1 innings in the minors for the Rockies… pic.twitter.com/seO4EyALT3
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) January 22, 2025
He’s just 27 years old, and the talent is most definitely there.
The Guardians have had some success with their pitching projects in the past, and perhaps they can turn him into a serviceable player at the next level.
Their player development system is among the league’s best, so there are always reasons to feel encouraged about this kind of signing.
Hopefully, it won’t be long before the team receives some good news from the former top-five draft pick.
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