Yefry Ramírez signs minor league deal with Dodgers, per report

Yefry Ramírez was one of 39 different Dodgers to throw a major league pitch in 2021, and one of five to pitch exactly one game for the team. It looks like he’ll be back with the organization for another go around in 2022, per report.

Chris Hilburn-Trenkle at Baseball America had a massive update of eight weeks worth of minor league transactions, dating back to November. Ramírez was one of three Dodgers minor league deals listed during that time. We already covered double Olympian Eddy Alvarez and catcher Tomás Telis earlier in January, so let’s review the returnee.

Ramírez is a 28-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic. He’s pitched for parts of three seasons in the majors (2018-19, 2021) for the Orioles, Pirates, and Dodgers.

For the bulk of 2021, Ramírez was in the starting rotation for Oklahoma City. He posted a 5.02 ERA and 5.56 FIP with OKC, and led the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in innings (113) and starts (22).

The Dodgers called Ramírez up to the majors on August 1, and he closed out a blowout win in Arizona with two scoreless innings. He also batted in that game, grounding into a double play in the ninth inning.

Did you know? Of the 37 non-position-player pitchers on the 2021 Dodgers, 26 batted at least once.

After an off day, Ramírez was optioned back to Oklahoma City, which at first came as a surprise because he was out of options. But this provided a lesson in baseball rules minutiae. Ramírez provided the Dodgers advance consent to be optioned prior to getting called up, a collective bargaining agreement feature that allows for extra, agreed-upon flexibility as long as the option happens within 45 days.

It was a busy transactional week for Ramírez, who was optioned on August 3 and designated for assignment on August 4. He cleared waivers, and was sent outright to Triple-A, and stayed in the minors for the remainder of the season.

Ramírez reached minor league free agency in November.

Ramírez is one of three known pitchers now in the Dodgers minors who pitched in the majors last year. He joins Carson Fulmer and Jon Duplantier, who were plucked by Los Angeles in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft in December.