Detroit Tigers re-sign Andrew Vasquez to minor-league contract with spring training invite

Left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez is returning to the Detroit Tigers for the 2024 season.

The 30-year-old, who threw 81.8% sliders and limited hard contact last season, has signed a minor-league contract with a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the agreement.

Vasquez cleared waivers and elected free agency in early November after the 2023 season. Two months later, he put pen to paper and re-signed with the Tigers.

In 2023, Vasquez logged a 3.35 ERA with 23 walks (10.5% walk rate) and 43 strikeouts (19.6% strikeout rate) across 48⅓ innings with the Philadelphia Phillies (30 games) and Tigers (12 games). He had a 2.27 ERA with the Phillies, then an 8.31 ERA with the Tigers.

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His walk rate jumped from 8.2% with the Phillies to 18.4% with the Tigers.

The Tigers claimed Vasquez off waivers from the Phillies at the beginning of August. He pitched in 10 games with the Tigers before landing on the injured list Aug. 28 with left calf tightness. He pitched in seven games for Triple-A Toledo as part of his rehab assignment and returned to the Tigers for two games to finish the season.

Vasquez pitched 2⅔ scoreless innings with one walk and three strikeouts against the Cleveland Guardians on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 in his final two appearances.

He doesn't generate whiffs, chases or strikeouts, and his fastball velocity averages just 89.1 mph, but Vasquez ranked in the 96th percentile in average exit velocity (85.7 mph), 94th percentile in hard-hit rate (30.8%), 84th percentile in barrel rate (5.5%) and 74th percentile in ground-ball rate (47.3%).

Vasquez threw five pitches last season: slider (81.8%), four-seam fastball (7.3%), curveball (5%), sinker (4.3%) and changeup (1.5%). After joining the Tigers, he completely ditched his curveball and changeup, sticking to only sliders, sinkers and four-seam fastballs.

His slider, which he throws more than 80% of the time, had a low 17.9% whiff rate but comes out of two different arm slots to deceive hitters: a low three-quarters slot and a side-arm slot.

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Vasquez has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons for the Minnesota Twins (2018-19), Los Angeles Dodgers (2021), Toronto Blue Jays (2022), San Francisco Giants (2022), Phillies (2023) and Tigers (2023), posting a career 4.24 ERA over 63⅔ innings.

He owns a 2.38 ERA across 302 innings in his 211-game career in the minor leagues, spanning eight seasons.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers re-sign Andrew Vasquez to minor-league contract