Former Dodgers Reliever Finds Himself in Familiar Territory
Across the recent 2022 season, Jake Reed has struggled to find a home for longer than a few weeks. Since July, the right-handed reliever has traveled from the Mets to the Dodgers to the Orioles to the Red Sox and right back to Los Angeles where he was until just this past week.
On Dec. 29th, the Dodgers decided to designate reliever Jake Reed for assignment in order to clear up room for their shiny new toy, J.D. Martinez.
The 35-year-old designated hitter officially signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Dodgers.
Jake Reed will now most likely find himself with a new team for the upcoming season after posting a 7.02 ERA across 16.2 innings split between the Dodgers, Mets, and Orioles. He gave up 15 runs on 17 hits and also had 13 errors.
The season prior, he split his time between Los Angeles and New York as he posted a 3.60 ERA across his 10 innings of work.
Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he has a cumulative 5.74 ERA through 26 innings and a below-average 19.2% strikeout rate, and a 39.8% grounder rate.
But the 30-year-old reliever has had much more success in the minor leagues than he has during his only two years up in the big leagues.
Reed has spent six different years in the Triple-A posting a 3.84 ERA through 215 innings including a 25.6% strikeout rate. This season alone, he put together a 3.09 ERA and 26:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his 20 Triple-A appearances between three different teams.
So clearly, the guy has the potential to be a great reliever as he's seemed to prove that at the minor-league level. But the big leagues are where it counts and it's a whole different ball game.
It's a bummer Reed had to face the boot this season yet again with the Dodgers but hopefully whichever team he finds himself with next will finally be a good fit.
