Rays sign RHP Dusten Knight to Minors deal

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays signed right-hander Dusten Knight to a Minor League deal this week, adding more experienced upper-level depth to their pitching staff.

Knight, 31, was a Minor League free agent after spending last season with the Orioles. He made his Major League debut for Baltimore on Aug. 4 and struggled in the big leagues, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits and five walks while striking out 11 in 8 2/3 innings over seven outings. Knight gave up one run and struck out five of the 13 hitters he faced while pitching twice against the Rays.

Knight’s Triple-A numbers are more intriguing. Pitching for Triple-A Norfolk last season, he posted a 3.05 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 39 strikeouts and seven saves in 38 1/3 innings (35 outings). Overall, Knight has a 3.11 ERA while allowing only one home run per nine innings in 70 Triple-A appearances over three seasons. He didn’t pitch competitively in 2020 after a stretch of his career spent bouncing around between the Giants, the Twins, the Mexican League and the Atlantic League.

The righty also has an interesting quirk that displays his athletic ability on the mound: a knack for backflips.

Knight, a 28th-round pick by the Giants in the 2013 Draft, mainly deployed three pitches during his brief big league debut: a fastball that averaged 90.7 mph and got hit hard, a changeup that wasn’t hit much and a curveball that accounted for a little more than a quarter of his offerings.

Clubs are not permitted to complete any transactions involving Major League players during the lockout, but they can sign non-roster players Minor League contracts, including non-roster deals with free agents who would earn invitations to Major League Spring Training.

Last month, the Rays brought back right-hander Chris Mazza on a Minor League deal. The 32-year-old Mazza was up and down for Tampa Bay quite a bit last season, pitching 14 times for the Rays (a 4.61 ERA with his first career save) and 26 times for Triple-A Durham (a 3.16 ERA). He was a big part of Tampa Bay's pitching depth, though, handling multiple innings whenever manager Kevin Cash called upon him -- a useful and appreciated role given pitcher workload concerns last year.

Left-hander Zack Erwin also announced on Twitter on Jan. 5 that he signed a Minor League deal with the Rays. A fourth-round pick out of Clemson by the White Sox in the 2015 Draft, he became a Minor League free agent after spending last year pitching in the upper levels of the A’s system. Erwin put together a 4.00 ERA with 67 strikeouts, 23 walks and only four homers allowed in 63 innings over 49 appearances last season.