The Toronto Blue Jays have added some depth to the bullpen. According to Gate 14 podcaster Johnny Giunta, the Blue Jays have added veteran left-handed reliever Amir Garrett to a minor league deal.
A product of St. John’s University in New York, Garrett was a 22nd-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2011 and spent the first five years of his career with the club. Making his debut in 2017, Garrett posted a 5.10 ERA across 235 outings and five seasons with the Reds. His best campaign came in 2019, where he authored a 3.21 ERA through a career-high 60 outings.
One of the memorable moments from his Reds tenure is when he challenged the entire Pittsburgh Pirates bench to a brawl, with the benches clearing as a result. Garrett was initially suspended seven games for the melee, which was eventually brought down to five games.
Left-hander Amir Garrett signs a MiLB deal with the Blue Jays
Early in the 2022 season, Garrett was traded to the Kansas City Royals and spent two seasons with the club. He would be DFA’d in mid-July of the 2023 campaign and finished the year in the Cleveland Guardians minor league organization, appearing in just five games.
Happy for my friend @Amir_Garrett. Even though he called me last night and told me I wasn’t allowed to tweet it I will let it slide. Welcome to toronto my friend ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DHyWHhLq1S
— Johnny Ginta (@JohnnyGiunta_) February 16, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
For the 2024 campaign, Garrett signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants but was released after being told he would not make the Opening Day roster. He would sign with the Angels on a MiLB shortly after and split the season between triple-A and the big leagues, appearing in just six games and posting a 5.06 ERA with 11 strikeouts.
Garrett is mostly a two-pitch mix hurler, using his slider most of the time while mixing in a mid to high-90s fastball. A strikeout pitcher with some command issues, Garrett adds to the depth for the left side of the bullpen with only Brendon Little slated to be the only southpaw on the relief corps.