The Marlins have inked right-hander Shawn Armstrong to a minor league contract, according to The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish (Twitter link). Armstrong will get an invite to the Marlins’ Major League spring camp.
After finishing last season with the Rays, Armstrong will head to Florida’s other team and try to win a job in Miami’s bullpen. It was something of a nervous wait on the open market for the righty, as he recently discussed with the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin about how he was unable to sign even a minors contract despite being a minor league free agent, as Armstrong was one of those free agents considered locked out as per league regulations.
Armstrong has pitched in each of the last seven MLB seasons, and he posted a 6.75 ERA over 36 innings with the Orioles and Rays. Despite a solid 26.7% strikeout rate, Armstrong was hurt by allowing 10 homers over his rather small sample size of action. The 31-year-old hasn’t displayed much consistency over his 167 career innings, managing a 4.63 ERA over stints with Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Seattle, and Cleveland.