The Cincinnati Reds have procured Yosver Zulueta, a right-handed pitcher, from the Toronto Blue Jays. According to Francys Romero, the Reds secured Zulueta via waivers earlier today. To accommodate him on the 40-man roster, Cincinnati placed Matt McLain on the 60-day injured list and sent Zulueta to Triple-A.
Zulueta, a 26-year-old Cuban pitcher who migrated to the US in 2020, faced setbacks due to Tommy John surgery that year. His sole appearance in the 2021 minor league season with Toronto’s Single-A Dunedin club ended abruptly when he tore his ACL covering first base after facing just one batter.
In 2022, Zulueta split his time between starting and relieving across all four levels of full-season minor league baseball, tallying a 3.72 ERA over 55.2 innings.
The following year, he spent the entire season with Triple-A Buffalo, recording a 4.08 ERA in 38 relief outings and seven starts. Despite yielding just one home run over 64.0 innings, he struggled with control, issuing 45 walks and hitting 10 batters while striking out 73.
His performance during spring training was lackluster, allowing six earned runs in five innings pitched over five games, with only two strikeouts out of 25 batters faced.
Zulueta relies heavily on his fastball, averaging 96 MPH with both his 2-seamer and 4-seamer last season, complemented by a changeup, slider, and curveball. Since the start of 2023, he has favored his 2-seamer over the 4-seamer and significantly reduced his usage of the curveball and changeup, almost exclusively relying on fastballs and sliders.
Although there is potential in his pitching arsenal, Zulueta’s history of control issues poses a challenge. However, his ability to induce ground balls combined with his capacity to generate strikeouts could prove advantageous if he improves his command.
Regarding his contract, Zulueta remains under team control for at least six seasons and has yet to make his Major League debut. He also has two option years remaining, including the current year.
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