The Padres have added even more organizational depth in the past couple days, signing a pair of pitchers with major league experience to minor league deals. Both right-hander Blaine Boyer and lefty Zach Braddock last pitched in the majors in 2011.
Blaine Boyer, who last played in MLB with #Mets in 2011, signed minor lge deal with #Padres. Gets $700,000 if plays in majors
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 11, 2014Boyer has pitched in parts of seven seasons for four clubs, most notably the Braves. He has thrown 234 innings in 233 appearances to the tune of a 9-14 record with a 4.81 ERA. His minor league numbers aren't much better, but he did pitch well in his 13 games with Kansas City's AAA affiliate in Omaha last season. Boyer posted an ERA of 3.00 in the small sample size of 15 innings. After being released by the Royals, he had success in Japan, going 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.889 in 27 innings spread over 22 games for the Hanshin Tigers.
#Padres sign LH reliever Zach Braddock to minor league deal. Finished 2013 in Atlantic League but has big league time with #Brewers
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 11, 2014Braddock is less well-traveled than Boyer, having pitched just two seasons for only one team. The seasons were 2010 and '11, and the team was the Brewers. He did well in his rookie year, putting up an ERA shy of three in 33.2 innings over 46 appearances in a LOOGY role. Braddock wasn't as successful in 2011, lasting just 17.1 innings with an astronomical 7.27 ERA. His K-rate dropped from a ridiculous 11 strikeouts-per-nine-innings to a still-impressive 9.3. His walk rate was also high both years - 5.1 and 5.7 per nine, respectively. These numbers were no fluke, as he has had double-digit K's-per-nine in the minors every year since 2009, averaging 12.0.
There was no mention made regarding invitations to big league camp for either one, so I'll assume they weren't extended the same courtesy that fellow minor league signing Xavier Nady was. More shall be revealed.
