Baseball

Marlins Sign Matt Andriese To Minor League Contract

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The Marlins announced their group of non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Among the external pickups in camp: right-hander Matt Andriese and catcher Jhonny Pereda. Fish on First reported that Andriese was signing with Miami in early December, but the move eluded MLBTR at the time.

Andriese, 34, has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons. The bulk of that time came with the Rays, where he logged 99 appearances between 2014-18. His time in Tampa Bay partially overlapped with that of former GM Peter Bendix, now the president of baseball operations in Miami. Andriese has bounced around since leaving Tampa Bay, logging shorter MLB stints with the D-Backs, Angels, Red Sox and Mariners.

After being outrighted by Seattle at the end of the 2021 campaign, he signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. Andriese only made five appearances at Japan’s top level. He returned to the affiliated ranks last offseason on a minor league contract with the Dodgers. Andriese started 19 of 21 appearances for L.A.’s Triple-A affiliate. He struggled with the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting, allowing a 6.05 ERA through 93 2/3 innings. Andriese fanned a modest 18.6% of batters faced in the minors, although he showed strong control with a walk rate narrowly south of 6%.

That’s the general profile the UC-Riverside product has shown throughout his time in the big leagues. He owns a 4.63 ERA in a little more than 500 major league innings. He doesn’t have overwhelming velocity or swing-and-miss stuff but he’s generally around the strike zone. He can serve as rotation depth or in a long relief role at Triple-A Jacksonville if he doesn’t break camp.

Pereda, 28 in April, is an 11-year minor league veteran. Originally a Cubs signee, the Venezuela native was traded to the Red Sox in 2020. He has since spent time with the Giants and Reds, playing last season with Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate. Pereda had an impressive .325/.405/.468 batting line in 67 games with the Reds’ top farm team a year ago. He’ll look to reach the majors for the first time in Miami, where the Fish only have Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes as catchers on the 40-man roster.

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