Inside The Dodgers

Former Dodgers Hurler Inks Minors Deal with Division Rival

The Padres signed former Dodgers pitcher Wilmer Font to a minor-league contract after the righty had two good seasons as a starter in Korea.
Jeff J. Snider|
Former Dodgers Hurler Inks Minors Deal with Division Rival
Former Dodgers Hurler Inks Minors Deal with Division Rival

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Los Angeles DodgersSan Diego Padres

Wilmer Font hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2020, when he posted a 9.92 ERA in 16.1 innings for the Blue Jays. In 2017-18, Font pitched 14 innings for the Dodgers, posting a 12.86 ERA with almost as many home runs allowed as strikeouts.

Font has spent the last two seasons pitching for the SSG Landers of the Korean Baseball Organization, where he posted a 3.03 ERA in 53 starts. But Font's time in Korea has come to an end, and he's heading back to the west coast of the United States, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

The Padres are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent righty Wilmer Font, MLBTR has learned. He’ll be in Major League Spring Training and compete for a roster spot. Font is repped by the OL Baseball Group. ...

Font will join lefties Adrian Morejon, Ryan Weathers and Jay Groome, plus righties Pedro Avila, Reiss Knehr, Julio Teheran and Aaron Brooks in comprising a wealth of rotation depth for San Diego. Each of Morejon, Weathers, Groome, Avila and Knehr is already on the 40-man roster, which could give them a leg up over Font when it comes to finding their way to the big leagues, but Font’s 2021-22 run in the KBO was genuinely impressive and should position him for a big league look at some point, so long as he’s able to pitch reasonably well early in his Padres tenure.

Font's most memorable moment as a Dodger actually came in a losing effort in a 15-inning game in Arizona. Font held the DBacks scoreless for four innings in relief, but immediately after Los Angeles put the go-ahead run on the board in the top of the 15th, Font allowed a walk and three hits and Arizona won the game, 8-7. Font then allowed 11 earned runs in his next five innings, and his time with the Dodgers came to an ignominious end.

Color me dubious that Font has anything to offer a big-league team. I'll need to see a lot more than him posting a decent ERA against lesser competition before I'm a believer. For the Dodgers' sake, though, let's hope he makes San Diego's rotation.

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Jeff J. Snider
JEFF J. SNIDER

Jeff was born into a Dodgers family in Southern California and is now raising a Dodgers family of his own in Utah. He's been blogging about baseball and the Dodgers since 2004 and doing it professionally since 2015. Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw Favorite Moment: Kirk Gibson's homer will always have a place, but Kershaw's homer on Opening Day 2013 might be the winner.

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