The Texas Rangers have signed right-handed relief pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo to a minor league deal, which includes an invite to Spring Training. Club exec John Blake announced the signing on twitter.
Texas has also signed RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo to a minor league deal with spring training invite. Posted 3.69 ERA in 32 game with Rays in '14
— John Blake (@RangerBlake) January 5, 2015
Oviedo, formerly known as Leo Nunez, saved 92 games for the Florida Marlins during the 2009-2011 season. He even posted a career-best 2.86 FIP and 9.8 K/9 in 2010.
After spending the 2012-2014 seasons recovering from Tommy John and dealing with documentation issues, Oviedo actually pitched decently with the Tampa Bay Rays last season. He finished out the year with a 3.69 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and a 102 ERA+ (where 100 is league average) in 31.2 innings.
However, the peripherals do not seem to like Oviedo’s 2014 campaign; his ERA translated to a much less impressive 4.52 FIP, he walked 4.5 batters per nine innings, and posted an abysmal 1.63 K/BB ratio.
But despite being only an average reliever in 2014, Oviedo could still make a difference in the Rangers bullpen and may even break camp with the team, should he regain his pre-Tommy John velocity.
This is a solid low-risk, high-reward signing by the Rangers. Best-case, Oviedo challenges Neftali Feliz for Texas’ closing job. Worst-case, the injury bug bites and the Rangers only surrender a minor league contract.