Marlins, Ronald Bolanos Agree To Minor League Contract

The Marlins have signed right-hander Ronald Bolaños to a minor league deal, as noted by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. He was assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he tossed four scoreless innings in his first start of the season tonight.

Bolaños, 26, has reached the major league level in each of the past four seasons. He broke into the professional ranks with the Padres and debuted at the MLB level with San Diego in 2019. The following summer, the Friars traded Bolaños alongside outfielder Franchy Cordero to the Royals for left-handed reliever Tim Hill.

Over the last three years, Bolaños has seen sporadic MLB action with Kansas City. He made two starts during the shortened 2020 season and was limited to three big league outings in 2021, largely because of an extended injured list stint with a forearm strain. He returned to throw 18 1/3 frames over eight relief appearances last year but walked and struck out 12 batters apiece. Midway through the season, K.C. designated Bolaños for assignment and ran him through outright waivers.

The native of Cuba spent the second half of the season in Triple-A Omaha. He posted a 6.26 ERA over 41 2/3 frames, working primarily as a multi-inning reliever. Bolaños qualified for minor league free agency at year’s end and remained on the open market until catching on with Miami.

Altogether, Bolaños owns a 5.25 ERA in 48 major league frames. He’s allowed just under five earned runs per nine innings over 413 1/3 career innings in the minors. The 6’2″ hurler relies primarily on a sinker that averaged just north of 93 MPH last season and has a decent track record of keeping the ball on the ground. He’ll offer the Fish a depth option for either the rotation or long relief. Bolaños is out of minor league option years, so if he earns an MLB call at any point, the Marlins would have to keep him in the majors or again designate him for assignment.