Former top prospect turned journeyman Jeremy Hermida has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Indians, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
Hermida is still just 29 years old despite seemingly being around forever–he was the Marlins’ first-round pick in 2002–but he hasn’t gotten regular playing time in the majors since 2010 and hasn’t done so while actually being productive since 2009.
Baseball America rated Hermida as a top-30 prospect for three straight years, giving him the No. 4 overall ranking in 2006. Last season Hermida struggled at Triple-A for the Padres, but in 2011 he hit .319 with a .924 OPS in 105 games at Triple-A for the Reds.
He’ll compete for a bench spot or possibly a platoon role in Cleveland.
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- Old Gator - Feb 4, 2013 at 11:01 AM
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Hermida frustrated Feesh fans the way Carole Bouquet frustrated Fernando Rey in That Obscure Object of Desire. He came up with more hype than a Michael Jackson concert tour, played temptingly well for one season, and then fizzled like a glassful of generic stout. Journeyman, indeed – from prince to tinker. Well, sometimes these guys can put together enough focus, experience and hitting smarts later in their career and redeem themselves a bit. From everything I heard he was a pretty good guy, so here’s hoping he can finally find himself some traction in the show.
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- Kevin Gillman - Feb 4, 2013 at 5:34 PM
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This is nothing more than a depth signing, which can be a good thing. One thing Jeremy can’t play is CF, which is why Ezequiel Carrera is more than likely going to serve as the 4th outfielder. We’ll see though.
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- hermie13 - Feb 4, 2013 at 8:18 PM
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Brantley can play CF though so don’t need a third CFer. That said, Carrera is probably the fave for the 4th OF job as he is out of options.
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- Kevin Gillman - Feb 4, 2013 at 10:42 PM
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Yeah that is true, I didn’t think of that. But I still say Carrera is the favorite, but nothing wrong with the Hermedia signing.
