Royals sign Jesus Tinoco to minor league deal

The Royals are searching for answers in the bullpen.

The Royals have signed right-handed pitcher Jesus Tinoco to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. Tinoco is a 29-year-old who has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues with the Rockies, Marlins, and Rangers, with a 4.58 career ERA in 57 relief appearances. He was up with the Rangers earlier this year, with an 8.10 ERA in nine games, striking out 9 and walking 7 in ten innings, before being designated for assignment on June 15.

Tinoco was originally signed by the Blue Jays out of the Dominican Republic, but was traded to the Rockies organization in the Troy Tulowitski trade. He made the Futures Game in 2018 and made his MLB debut the next year, posting a 4.75 ERA in 36 innings. His best season came in 2022 with the Rangers, when he posted a 2.18 ERA in 20 ²⁄₃ innings. He doesn’t bring the ability to miss bats the Royals sorely need, striking out just 7.2 hitters per nine-innings in his career with a high walk rate.

However, the Royals may feel like he has something to work with in his arsenal. Tinoco is primarily a sinker/slider pitcher with a 44 percent career ground ball rate, although he does feature a 96 mph fastball as well.

Royals relievers have a 4.35 ERA, ninth-worst in baseball, with the worst strikeout rate of any team.