Tigers sign Jordan Balazovic to minors contract

The Tigers signed a right-handed hitter Jordan Balazovic to a minor league deal, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media. Balazovic returns to North American baseball after a brief stint with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League, as Balazovic signed with the Bears after being released by the Twins last July.

A fifth-round pick out of Minnesota in the 2016 draft, Balazovic earned some looks as a top-100 prospect as he climbed the ladder of the Twins’ farm system. However, most of his success came in the lower echelons of the rankings, as Balazovic posted a 6.35 ERA in 151 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Despite those struggles, the Twins gave him a glimpse of the big leagues in 2023, and Balazovic posted a 4.44 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate and one walk in his first 24 1/3 innings in the exhibition rate of 11.1%.

The Twins decided to designate Balazovic for assignment last February and then released him, although he was quickly re-signed to another minor league contract. Further problems in Triple-A led to Balazovic being released again so he could take advantage of his opportunity in South Korea, and Balazovic had a 4.26 ERA and a strong 27.6% strikeout rate in 57 innings with the Bears , starting 11 of his 12 games.

Balazovic still had a walk rate of 11.2% with the Bears, which is slightly higher than his career walk rate of 9.01% in the minors. His control deteriorated as Balazovic faced greater levels of competition in the minor leagues, while his strikeout and grounder rates were generally fairly solid, albeit with some variation within the small sample sizes available at different minor league levels changed.

Balazovic is only 26 years old, so it makes sense that the Tigers would target a formerly notable prospect to see if another change of scenery helps the right-hander unlock his potential. Detroit has signed them too Matt Gage, Brendan WhiteAnd Ryan Miller have come to minor deals in recent days as the Tigers line up some depth weapons to evaluate in spring camp. These types of signings are, of course, common for any team and don’t prevent Detroit from looking at more well-known bullpen options like the reported Target Kirby Yates.