Who Is Newest Guardians Pitcher Parker Mushinski?

The Cleveland Guardians add to their pitching depth by signing former Houston Astros pitcher to a minor league deal.

Mar 30, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Parker Mushinski (67) delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians made a small free agency move on Saturday morning. They signed LHP Parker Mushinski to a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training camp.

Here's everything you need to know about Cleveland's newest pitcher.

Mushinski, 28, was a seventh-round selection and 211th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. The lefty was selected by the Houston Astros and has spent the last seven years in their organization.

He finally made his big-league debut on March 17, 2022, in a relief appearance against the Seattle Mariners.

Mushinski spent the last three seasons bouncing between the Astros Triple-A and major league roster.

He has a major league ERA of 5.45 and a 1.42 WHIP in 33.0 innings. The southpaw has made much more of an impression at the minor league level with a career 3.47 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

Mushinski's best minor league season was in 2023, when he appeared in 32 games and gave up ten earned runs in 31.2 innings of work. That season, he demonstrated incredible command of the zone with a walk rate of 8.8 percent and a strikeout rate of 31.2 percent.

The left-hander brings a big, sizable mix featuring fastball offspeed pitches.

Mushinski's go-to pitch is his cutter, which topped out at 88.0 mph last year. He also used a curveball to counter this velocity and also has a four-seam fastball, sinker, and sweeper in his aresonal.

Cracking Cleveland's bullpen will be challenging for Mushinski or any other pitcher the Guardians sign this winter. They had the best bullpen in baseball last year and are in a position to be dominant in 2025.

Even with the Guardians having few spots on their major league roster, Mushinski looks like a solid depth piece with major league experience.