New Beginnings: Traded Dodgers Reliever Starts Fresh With…

The Detroit Tigers are bringing back right-handed reliever and former Los Angeles Dodger Ricky Vanasco on a minor-league deal.

Acquired from the Dodgers for cash considerations before the July 30 trade deadline, the 26-year-old has secured a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training, according to a Detroit Free Press source familiar with the agreement.

If Vanasco makes the big-league roster, his salary will be $925,000.

The reliever has been assigneed to Triple-A Toeldo for the time being and is expected to receive an invite to big league spring training.

Detroit non-tendered Vanasco days ago, opting not to expose him to waivers and instead allowing him to enter free agency. This move paved the way for the Tigers to re-sign him under the new deal.

The right-hander has only appeared in four major league games — two with the Dodgers and two with the Tigers — leaving little to evaluate from such a small sample size. However, the Tigers see potential in him, which explains their continued interest.

With the Tigers, Vanasco utilized three pitches: a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a cutter. Prior to joining Detroit, he relied on a fastball and curveball during his time with the Dodgers.

After the trade, however, the Tigers directed him to replace his curveball with a slider and cutter. A key focus in his ongoing development is improving his ability to consistently fill the strike zone.

“We changed the curveball grip to play off my four-seam, and it turned cuttery,” Vanasco said Sept. 1, after the Tigers called him up when rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players. “It was cool messing around with those grips down there trying to find something, and then I found a different thing. It was a lot of fun learning that down there.”

Vanasco also saw his fastball average hover around 94.7 mph.

“I think what makes my fastball good is just the intent behind it when I throw it,” Vanasco said. “Every time I throw it, I try to throw it by you. I think that’s what makes it really good, other than the movement plots that I have on it.”

Vanasco made his MLB debut with the Dodgers on April 15, 2024, but spent the majority of the 2024 season in Triple-A, pitching in 24 games for the Dodgers’ affiliate in Oklahoma City and 11 games for the Tigers’ affiliate in Toledo.