Right-hander Ryan Hendrix announced on Instagram that he has signed with the Diamondbacks (hat tip to @HeyGingersaurus). Presumably, it’s a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, though there’s been no official announcement from the team just yet.
It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Hendrix, who turns 28 on Friday. This will be just the second organization for him, as he was drafted by the Reds in 2016 and has been with them ever since. The reliever worked his way up the minor league ladder and got selected to the club’s 40-man roster ahead of the 2020 season.
Though he didn’t make it to the show in 2020, he has seen some brief MLB action in the past two years. In his 40 combined innings, he has a 5.85 ERA with solid strikeout and ground ball rates of 24.4% and 42.2%, though a 12.2% walk rate that’s a few ticks above league average. The story is fairly similar in the minors, with Hendrix tossing 54 1/3 Triple-A innings over the past two years, posting a 6.13 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 16% walk rate, getting grounders on over 50% of balls in play in each season.
Hendrix was outrighted off the Reds’ roster in October and elected free agency. The Diamondbacks have stepped up and given him a new opportunity, presumably intrigued by his combination of strikeouts and ground balls. If he can rein in his control, he could prove to be a useful hurler. Assuming this is indeed a minor league deal, he will have to work his way back to a 40-man roster spot. If he succeeds there, he’s out of options and will need to hang onto his active roster spot or else be designated for assignment.