The Red Sox reportedly sign pitcher Daniel Schlereth to a minor-league deal. The reunion of Dave Dombrowski and Schlereth are in the works.
The Boston Red Sox have reportedly added pitcher Daniel Schlereth to their farm system roster, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The deal doesn’t include a spring training invite.
Red Sox have added another pitcher on a minor-league deal. It's lefty Daniel Schlereth, per source. 32-year-old made 94 appearances for ARZ and DET from 09-12, has bounced around with a bunch of orgs since. Son of Mark Schlereth.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) January 15, 2019
Dave Dombrowski and Schlereth have history and have encountered numerous reunions over the years. Dombrowski was the President and General Manager of the Detroit Tigers from 2002-2015. Schlereth was drafted in 2008 and has been a member of the Tigers organization three times.
Schlereth has spent the majority of his career floating around different organizations. The 32-year-old pitcher was drafted and signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2008 Amateur Draft. He played with the team for a season before being part of a three-team trade between the Diamondbacks, the New York Yankees, and the Detroit Tigers. The trade included teammate Max Scherzer, Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson, Phil Coke, Austin Jackson, and Ian Kennedy. Schlereth remained with the Tigers until 2012 when he was granted free agency.
Schlereth was then purchased by the Tigers in June of 2014. He was later granted free agency in 2014 and signed with the Tigers in January of 2015. Since 2012, he has been part of the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, and Seattle Mariners organizations. The only organization that he ever returned to was the Tigers. Is it a coincidence that Dombrowski happened to be one constant with the Tigers during that time?
What do we know about Schlereth?
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Schlereth played in the four seasons in the majors from 2009-2012. Recently he’s bounced around from the minors to independent leagues. In 2018, Schlereth split his time between playing for an independent Atlantic League and playing at the Triple-A level. He had only 12 appearances in the Mariners farm system. During that stretch, he struggled and recorded a 5.40 ERA.
Overall, Schlereth has been inconsistent. His lowest recorded ERA (which happened to be a 2.89 ERA) occurred eight years ago when he was just 24-years-old.
Career stats: 0.0 WAR, 5 Wins, 6 Losses, 4.35 ERA, and 1 Save in 94 games
What can we expect?
It’s impressive that Schlereth has been able to stick around in the league for so long. Even though he hasn’t developed into a top left-handed pitcher, he’s done enough to remain signed by teams. At this point in time, he isn’t a consistent enough player to get back to the major league level. He doesn’t have an invite to spring training, as a result, it’s safe to say that expectations for him this season aren’t overly high. Especially considering that he hasn’t played in the majors since 2012.
He offers depth in the farm system for the Red Sox. In addition, he’s an older player and can take the role of a player-mentor for the younger talent. Based on their history, it’s clear that Dombrowski believes in him and sees potential there.