Cincinnati Reds sign pitcher Kyle Dowdy to minor league deal

Kyle Dowdy has been a big league pitcher in his professional career. That he was not one, though, is precisely why he’s been able to sign with the Cincinnati Reds at this time.

The two sides struck a deal on a minor league contract on Thursday, with Dowdy receiving an invite to Reds spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona, should that ever materialize in a post-lockout world. The club announced the deal on Twitter.

While the 22.1 IP he fired at the MLB level with the Texas Rangers back in 2019 were nothing to truly write home about, Dowdy has long been known for his potent right arm. As our friends at Redleg Nation pointed out, his fastball has topped out at 98.3 mph in limited recorded big league action, and he’s got a beamin’ slider to go with it.

The reality is that he’s going to be a 29 year old for the 2022 professional season, should it commence, and his lack of command is what’s truly limited him to that tiny big league sample. That right arm’s talent is precisely why he keeps getting opportunities, however, as evidenced by his time spent with each of the Detroit Tigers, Rangers, New York Mets, and Cleveland. Presumably, they all saw plenty to like in the former 12th round pick out of the University of Houston and wanted to be the ones that harnessed him.

After 40 walks issued in just 60.0 IP with AAA Columbus last season while in the Cleveland organization, it’s clear there’s still a lot of work to be done. Still, I think I’d rather have a wild slinger with any chance of figuring out the strike zone at this point over an 88 mph meatball tosser, if I had to create a strawman argument to make me feel better about this all.