The Dodgers agree on a righty reliever Julian Fernandez on a minor league contract, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The 29-year-old girl receives an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
Fernández is working to return to the majors for the first time since 2021. He played in six games for the Rockies that year, allowing eight runs in 6 2/3 innings. That remains his only major league experience. Colorado released him from the 40-man roster in June 2022. Fernéandez spent time in Triple-A with the Blue Jays the following year.
The Dominican Republic player had retired from professional football in 2024. Fernández spent a year in Mexico. He had a great season with Veracruz, posting a 1.82 earned run average in 34 2/3 innings. He struck out 32.1% of opposing batters. Fernández gave up eight runs in 11 2/3 innings in the Dominican Winter League, but Dodger scouts are clearly still in awe of his stuff.
In his short time in the big leagues, Fernández flashed a lot of speed. He averaged 99 MPH with his four-seam fastball. That hasn’t translated into many whiffs at relative rates. He has a 24% strikeout rate and has walked about 11% of the batters he faced over parts of four Triple-A campaigns. Fernández has a 6.05 ERA in 80 1/3 innings at that level.
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