Marlins take flier on pitcher who missed most of 2023 with injury

The Marlins are in agreement with right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez on a minor league deal, reports Francys Romero (X link). He’ll be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee.

Gutierrez joins the second organization of his career. The Cuban hurler was a high-profile international signee by the Reds back in 2016. Cincinnati paid a hefty $4.75M for his services. Gutierrez was just 21 at the time and began his affiliated stint in High-A. His prospect stock dimmed over the next couple seasons as he struggled at the higher levels of the minors.

Cincinnati nevertheless called Gutierrez to the big leagues in 2021. He held a spot in the rotation for the majority of that season, starting 22 games and logging 114 innings. Gutierrez allowed 4.74 earned runs per nine innings while striking out a below-average 17.7% of opposing hitters. He started 8-of-10 appearances the following year and was tagged for a 7.61 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

In early June, the Reds placed Gutierrez on the injured list with forearm soreness. That often ominous diagnosis predated a Tommy John procedure the following month. He spent the remainder of that year and almost all of 2023 on the injured list. Gutierrez logged 6 1/3 minor-league innings late last season but didn’t return to the big leagues. The Reds placed him on waivers at the start of the offseason, sending him to free agency.

Now that he has put the surgery behind him, Gutierrez profiles as rotation or long relief depth for the Fish. Miami hasn’t done much to address a rotation that lost Sandy Alcantara to Tommy John surgery last October. They acquired Darren McCaughan in a small trade with Seattle and have brought in Matt Andriese, Yonny Chirinos and Kyle Tyler on non-roster deals.