Reds sign free agent who was converted from catcher to pitcher by Blue Jays

Billy Heyen

Reds sign free agent who was converted from catcher to pitcher by Blue Jays image

The Cincinnati Reds' newest pitching signing out of free agency hasn't been a pitcher for all that long.

Hagen Danner was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays as a catcher.

Only after his bat stalled out was Danner moved to the mound by Toronto.

He even made it to the majors with the Blue Jays in 2023, but he got just a single out at the MLB level.

Toronto cut him loose after 2024 and he joined the Seattle Mariners.

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Danner pitched the entire season in Triple-A with Tacoma and had a 5.59 ERA.

Danner is 6-foot-1, 27 years old and 215 pounds. He's originally from Huntington Beach, California.

In his minor league career, Danner has struck out 10.0 batters per nine innings, which is a great and promising rate.

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The Reds likely see stuff that they can mold in the hopes of creating a useful big league reliever.

There's really no risk for this move, which was announced as part of the Reds' spring training invite list on their official social media channels on Tuesday.

And if Danner works out, it extends what has been a cool baseball story for him already.

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News Correspondent