One day removed from Christmas (Merry Christmas), we have two more relievers who signed. The Minnesota Twins signed LHP Zach Duke, and RHP Jared Hughes went to the Cincinnati Reds on a two year deal.
Duke is a veteran lefty who can eat up innings and be strong against left handed batters in 2018. He is a solid signing for not much money at all.
Duke, 35, had a 3.93 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 18.1 innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. In his MLB career for the Cards, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks, Duke has a 4.30 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 785 strikeouts in 1284.2 innings.
For the Reds, They really need to eat up innings, especially if their pitchers suffer a similar injury bug to the one they had in 2017. Plus, their bullpen is looking pretty weak, and will be even weaker if they do trade closer Raisel Iglesias, who has reportedly garnered trade interest from bullpen-thirsty teams. Hughes is a nice middle relief option for manager Bryan Price.
Hughes, 32, had a 3.02 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 59.2 innings in 2017 for the Brewers. In his MLB career for the Brewers and Pirates, Hughes has a 2.85 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 369 innings.
CarterHud 