Braves have added another reliever on a non-guaranteed contact.
The Braves strategy of signing as many relievers to minor-league deals as possible continued Sunday evening as they signed local kid Buck Farmer as a non-roster invitee, per Justin Toscano of the AJC.
Braves have brought RHP Buck Farmer into camp as a non-roster invitee.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) February 16, 2025
Farmer, a Georgia native and former Georgia Tech Yellowjacket, has pitched across 11 different season in the majors with Detroit and Cincinnati, including the last 3 seasons with the Reds. Those last 3 seasons in Cincinnati are particularly interesting for the Braves considering Farmer threw 193 innings out of the bullpen over that time and did so to 3.68 ERA and 4.00 FIP.
Those are some awfully solid numbers from a guy who just signed a non-guaranteed minor-league contract and is arguably the most accomplished reliever the Braves have added this winter.
Farmer did see his average fastball velocity drop from 94.0 mph in 2023 to 92.9 mph in 2024 on top of the fact that he really struggles to get LH hitters out at this point of his career. Those things likely contributed to him being unable to secure a fully guaranteed deal this winter and the Braves jumped on the opportunity to see if they can find some value.
He now joins a large contingent of arms the Braves have in Spring camp competing for a spot in the 2025 bullpen and considering his years of major league success, may have a leg up on several of the others.