Detroit Tigers re-sign 26-year-old RP Gerson Moreno to minor-league contract
The Detroit Tigers signed right-handed reliever Gerson Moreno as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic in 2012.
Moreno, now 26, became a minor-league free agent in November, but less than three months later, the Tigers re-signed him. His minor-league contract with the Tigers became official Monday, according to the team's transaction page.
The Tigers assigned Moreno to Triple-A Toledo.
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In 2021, Moreno recorded a 4.59 ERA with 29 walks and 73 strikeouts in 49 innings for Double-A Erie (35 games) and Triple-A Toledo (two games). He had a 4.47 ERA in 46⅓ innings for the SeaWolves and a 6.75 ERA in 2⅔ innings for the Mud Hens.
Moreno has received an invitation to MLB spring training each of the past two years.
He made the Tigers' 40-man roster as a Double-A pitcher in November 2017, following a dominant eight-game performance in the Arizona Fall League, but his career was put on hold in July 2018 when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
It wasn't until 2021 that Moreno returned to Erie.
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Moreno, armed with a 95 mph fastball, owns a 4.05 ERA with 4.8 walks and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 288⅔ innings across 192 games (12 starts) throughout his eight-year career in the minor leagues.
After becoming a free agent in November, Moreno pitched out of the bullpen for Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Winter League this offseason. He teamed up with Tigers right-hander Rony Garcia.
Moreno had a 1.52 ERA with 16 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23⅔ innings over 28 relief appearances between the regular season (17 games), round-robin semifinals (eight games) and championship series (three games).
Estrellas de Oriente lost to Gigantes del Cibao in the final round.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers, Gerson Moreno sign minor-league contract
