The Reds announced this morning that they’ve signed right-hander Brooks Kriske to a minor league deal. His contract contains an invitation to big league camp in spring training.
Kriske, 29, has appeared in parts of three Major League seasons, logging time with the Yankees, Orioles and Royals. He’s been tagged for 27 runs in a tiny sample of 21 2/3 innings, although he posted better results in a brief look with Kansas City last year when he held opponents to three runs on three hits and four walks with six punchouts in 6 2/3 frames. Kriske averages a bit better than 95 mph on his four-seamer, pairing that offering with a splitter and slider that sat at 84.4 mph and 82.2 mph, respectively, in his short time with the Royals.
While Kriske’s track record in the big leagues is obviously quite limited, he sports a career 2.91 ERA with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate in six minor league seasons. He’s also parts of two seasons in Japan, pitching to a combined 2.31 ERA in 35 innings between the Seibu Lions and Yokohama BayStars.
Walks and home runs have been issues for Kriske throughout his time in the big leagues. The latter of those two deficiencies is a particularly tough fit with the Reds’ homer-happy environs in Cincinnati, but Kriske throws relatively hard, gets decent spin on his heater and can miss bats in droves. On a no-risk minor league deal, he’s a fine flyer for a Reds club whose bullpen is lacking in established relievers beyond its top few names (Alexis Diaz, Emilio Pagan, Lucas Sims, Sam Moll, Tejay Antone).