Dodgers ink trio of pitchers to minor league deals
With just a month until Spring Training and the return of baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to build out their system in hopes of creating all the necessary organizational depth necessary to complete a deep run through October.
On Friday, the team inked three pitchers to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training, including right-handers Wander Suero, Jordan Yamamoto and Dylan Covey.
Wander Suero
Suero, now 31, is heading into his fifth big league season, spending his previous four with the Washington Nationals, with whom he won a World Series Championship with in 2019. In 185 career appearances he's tossed 185 1/3 innings with a 4.61 ERA and 200 strikeouts.
In 2022, he pitched for the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican Baseball League, recording a 2.84 ERA in seven games. He relies on a three-pitch repertoire of a cutter, curveball and changeup.
A Dominican Republic native, Suero was signed in 2010, spending seven years in the Washington minor league system before breaking into the bigs in 2018.
Jordan Yamamoto
Yamamoto, 26, was previously touted as a key part of the Miami Marlins' future pitching rotation when he was first called up to the MLB in 2019, tossing back-to-back seven inning shutout gems. However, in recent years, he's seen that success hit a downward trend, ending up in his trade to the New York Mets in early 2021.
He appeared in just two games with the Mets that year, before he was sidelined for the year with an injury. He was designated for assignment in 2022, failing to make it onto the big league roster before he elected free agency following the season.
Yamamoto hails from Hawaii and features a four-pitch repertoire, mostly relying on a slider-cutter combo. In 96 2/3 big league innings, he has a 6.05 ERA and 98 strikeouts.
He announced the signing on his personal Instagram on Friday, stating that he's "Excited to get my career back on track."
Dylan Covey
Covey, 31, returns home with this deal, having grown up in the Southland and attending high school in Pasadena. He was drafted in the first round by the Milwaukee Brewers following his senior year, but health issues caused him to reconsider signing, instead opting to attend the University of San Diego. He wound up being selected in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
He would end up making his big league debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2017, after being selected the year prior in the MLB Rule 5 Draft. He spent the better part of three years in Chicago before swapping out the color of his socks in 2020 when pitching for the Boston Red Sox.
In 264.1 big league innings, Covey has a 6.57 ERA and 184 strikeouts. He spent the last two seasons in the Chinese Professional Baseball League with the Rakuten Monkeys. He saw reasonable success overseas, tossing 198 1/3 innings with a 3.63 ERA.
Covey features a five-pitch repertoire that includes a slider, sinker, 4-seam fastball, changeup and cutter.
