Guardians Sign Former First Round Pick To Minor League Contract
The Cleveland Guardians are now just 19 days away from beginning their 2024 Spring Training.
One day after adding a longtime Minor League center fielder to their spring training non-roster invite list, the team has now added another player to the same company.
On Saturday, the Guardians announced that they have signed pitcher Tyler Beede to a minor league contract, and have extended him a non-roster invitation to Cleveland’s Spring Training.
The 30-year-old was a first-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants out of Vanderbilt University. He most recently pitched for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball last season, going 0-7 with a 4.08 ERA, one save, 51 strikeouts, and a 1.45 WHIP in 37 appearances.
May 4, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tyler Beede (14) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After making his Major League debut with San Francisco in 2018, he was a fixture in the Giants’ starting rotation the following year. Beede went 5-10 with a 5.08 ERA, 113 strikeouts, 46 walks, and a .271 opposing batting average in 24 appearances (22 starts).
In March of 2020, however, he underwent Tommy John Surgery for a UCL sprain in his pitching elbow. Beede was placed on the 60-day injured list and eventually returned to San Francisco in early July of 2021.
After pitching just one inning for the Giants, he eventually suffered a lower back strain. Then, after compiling a 4.66 ERA in six relief appearances in 2022, he was designated for assignment.
Beede was soon claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 2-5 with a 5.23 ERA, 35 strikeouts, 23 walks, and a .274 opposing batting average. After being designated for assignment, Beede then elected free agency.
