The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to make a move for their Major League roster, but they have added to the Minor League system.
The Dodgers had 17 Minor Leaguers become free agents, including 10 pitchers, which left them facing a need to add some depth. They will also be looking for Minor League players who can report to Spring Training to both provide depth and potentially make an impression for later in the season.
To replace some of those pitchers, the Dodgers have reportedly added a pair of relievers with some intriguing traits.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Dodgers signed left-hander Joe Jacques to a Minor League contract that includes a non-roster invite to 2025 Spring Training:
Left-handed reliever Joe Jacques signs a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have given him an invite to their big-league camp next spring. He pitched in 25 games in the big leagues with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks the past two years.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 16, 2024
The Dodgers also followed that up by signing right-hander Justin Jarvis, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball:
Another intriguing MiLB signing: The Dodgers have an agreement with RHP Justin Jarvis. A 5th round pick in 2018, Jarvis was acquired by the Mets for Mark Canha at the 2023 deadline.
4.55 ERA in 87 AA/AAA IP in 2024. FB averaged 19 inches of IVB from 5.9 ft. release height.
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) November 17, 2024
Jacques has thrown 29.2 innings at the Major League level for the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks, but he has not found much success with a 5.46 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 15.9% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
However, he throws from a low arm slot and could provide a different look to hitters out of the bullpen.
Jacques relies on a three-pitch mix that includes a sinker, sweeper and slider. His sinker sits in the low 90s, but he has limited hard contact and missed barrels at a strong rate during his small sample of innings.
At the Minor League level, he’s thrown 263.2 innings with a 3.82 ERA.
Jarvis is a 24-year-old who has yet to pitch at the Major League level. In his Minor League career, he’s thrown 503.2 innings with a 4.56 ERA with 504 strikeouts and a 1.40 WHIP.
But like Leighton points out, Jarvis has intriguing characteristics on his fastball, which is something the Dodgers tend to look for in their pitchers. A potential change with his pitch mix and game planning could help him find more success.
The Dodgers have been MLB’s best team at finding undervalued relievers, so anytime they bring an arm in it’s worth considering they could make an impact at some point.
Neither are likely to start the year at the Major League level, but they both could be options at some point in the year when the Dodgers are in need of arms.
Dodgers signed Aaron Bracho
The Dodgers made their first acquisition of the 2024-2025 offseason by signing former top prospect Aaron Bracho to a Minor League contract.
Bracho was assigned to Double-A Tulsa and does not take up a spot on the 40-man roster. Although they did not announce if the deal includes an invite to Major League Spring Training, Bracho will likely be part of the Dodgers’ non-roster invitees to big league camp.
Bracho, who turns 24 years old in April, was once a well-regarded prospect for the Cleveland Guardians. He was ranked as the No. 6 overall second base prospect, just behind former Dodgers prospect Michel Busch, in the 2021 rankings by MLB Pipeline.
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