Dodgers bring back familiar face, sign Pedro Baez to minor league deal
The Dodgers inked reliever Pedro Baez to a minor league contract Friday afternoon, bringing back an old friend who previously spent six years with the club before departing as a free agent.
Baez signed a two-year deal worth $12.5 million with the Houston Astros in 2021, but was recently designated for assignment following a string of injury issues which kept him from pitching in all but seven games for Houston in two seasons.
In those seven games, he tossed just 6.2 innings with a 5.40 ERA, tallying seven strikeouts.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise considering the offseason signing trend Los Angeles' front office displayed, inking relievers in Tyler Anderson, Yency Almonte, Reyes Moronta, Daniel Zamora, Danny Duffy, Jimmy Nelson and Dellin Betances.
Baez looks to return to the form he once had as a Dodger, acting as their longtime setup-man for then-closer Kenley Jansen. Over six years with the franchise he sported a 3.03 ERA in 362 appearances, earning 100 holds.
However, he does provide additional depth in the event that more relievers sustain injuries, after the team recently moved Blake Treinen and Victor Gonzalez to the 60-day IL and Tommy Kahnle to the 15-day IL.
Baez, of course, was a crucial member of the 2020 World Series Championship team, pitching in eight different games during their storied run, holding hitters to a .192 batting average.
