Bullpen Moves

Photo Credit; Kelley Cox-USA Today

Two minor trades as the trucks begin to roll to Arizona for spring training from Cleveland and San Francisco and pitchers and catchers prepare to report.

The Indians might have helped their bullpen for the season with the addition of 28-year-old righthander Nick Wittgren from the Miami Marlins.
Wittgren appeared in 32 games last season for the Marlins, finishing 2-1 with an ERA of 2.94.
Wittgren struck out 31 in over 33 innings but is noted more for control than as an especially hard thrower.
Wittgren's best pitch is noted to be a curveball and looking at his numbers along with what he makes (isn't arbitration eligible until next off-season), I'm really not sure why the Marlins virtually gave away what appears to be a pretty solid reliever, unless the notoriously tightwaddish Marlins are concerned about that 2020 arbitration.

Cleveland traded minor league pitcher Jordan Milbrath in return for Wittgren.
Milbrath spent most of last season with AA Akron (2-4 3.42 ERA 1 save) with a brief stint at AAA Columbus.
Milbrath is also 27, has a plus fastball and seems to be a player that others value (Milbrath was taken and returned by Pittsburgh in the 2018 Rule 5 draft), but has enough flaws to not be considered a top prospect.

The Giants bought righthander Jake Barrett from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash.
The 27-year-old Barrett spent most of last season with AAA Reno with a record of 4-0 with 8 saves and an ERA of 2.87.
Barrett appeared in seven games for the major league squad finishing 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA.
Barrett did appear in a combined 96 games for Arizona in 2016 and 2017, so he has major league experience and for the small layoff of a few dollars, it's worth the Giants time to give a chance for Barrett to add to the bullpen.