Cincinnati Reds Sign Three Minor Leaguers

On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds made a few low-key moves, signing Jermaine Curtis, Ivan De Jesus Jr., and Nathan Adcock to minor league deals, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation.

While the signings don’t exactly answer the left field or bullpen issues, they do serve as organizational depth for the Reds.

Curtis, 27, has spent his entire career in the Cardinals organization, appearing in five big league games in 2013. Curtis primarily plays third base, but has experience at second base and left field as well. For his minor league career, he’s batted .272/.379/.348. Curtis doesn’t strikeout much (11.6 K%) and his walk numbers are above average as well (11.6 BB%). As his slugging percentage might indicate, Curtis’ power numbers are a bit underwhelming; he’s never hit more than five home runs in a season or driven in more than 49 runs. Last season at Triple-A Memphis, Curtis hit .253/.386/.289 with no home runs, 26 RBIs, and five stolen bases.

De Jesus is the son of former major leaguer Ivan De Jesus, who played for seven different major league teams. De Jesus, a 27-year-old shortstop and second baseman, is a bit of a journeyman himself, spending time in the Dodgers, Red Sox, Pirates, and Orioles organizations. He’s appeared in 48 major league games with the Dodgers and Red Sox, batting .205/.253/.247 with zero HRs and five RBIs. Despite lackluster numbers in the big leagues, De Jesus has showed good offensive promise in his minor league career, amassing more than 1,000 hits and putting up a .298/.369/.395 slash. Like Curtis, De Jesus is a non-factor from a power standpoint, hitting only 38 HRs in his 10 minor league seasons. In 2014 with Triple-A Pawtucket and Norfolk, De Jesus batted .281/.359/.386 with five HRs, 57 RBIs, and two SBs.

A Kentucky native, Adcock, 26, has the most major league experience of the three players signed, appearing in 43 games over parts of three seasons with the Royals and Rangers. Pitching primarily out of the bullpen, Adcock has gone 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Adcock missed the first two months of the 2014 season, but pitched fairly effectively after his return. In 18 games at Triple-A Round Rock, Adcock went 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He saw time with the Rangers as well, going 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in seven appearances. He saw his strikeout numbers increase from a career rate of 6.6 to 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings between Triple-A and the Rangers.

These moves from Walt Jocketty certainly won’t make a huge splash, but they do give the Reds more depth in Triple-A in the form of players who have some MLB experience. Barring injuries, Curtis and De Jesus are unlikely to see time with Cincinnati in 2015, but Adcock could potentially provide bullpen help for the Reds if he can impress in Spring Training and Triple-A.