Signings have been very slow this offseason for the Cincinnati Reds until yesterday when they claimed Roansy Contreras from the Texas Rangers. The team has not signed anyone to a big league contract, but they’ve also barely signed anyone to a minor league contract nearly two months into free agency. They did add a signing by picking up right-handed reliever Lenny Torres, who became a minor league free agent in early November.
Cleveland drafted Torres back in 2018 out of Beacon High School with the 41st overall pick in the draft. The then 17-year-old pitched in six games and threw 15.1 innings, but he then missed the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery and then the 2020 season when the minor league season was cancelled.
When he returned to the mound in 2021 Cleveland put him in the rotation in what was then referred to as Low-A (which is now simply Single-A). Things didn’t go well as he struggled with control and had a 6.29 ERA. The next year he made the transition to the bullpen and the control issues remained for the next two seasons.
In 2024 he moved up to Double-A where he pitched out of the Akron bullpen and while he still walked a few more hitters than you would prefer to see, his 24 walks in 51.2 innings represented a big step forward with regards to his control and walk rate. That improved control also came with a big improvement in his ERA as he posted a 2.26 ERA in the Eastern League after never having an ERA under 5.26 over the previous three seasons. Torres also racked up 63 strikeouts on the season.
His fastball sits in the mid-90’s and he touched 99 during the season. He will also mix in a breaking ball in the mid-80’s. While he’s a minor league signing and as of now it does not appear that he’s got an invitation to big league spring training, he’s got two big league caliber pitches to work with. The key for him will to keep the walks down and if he can do that, his stuff has a chance to play in the big leagues.
You can see the career stats for Lenny Torres here.
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