Detroit Tigers add pitcher Carlos Sanabria, catcher Chris Rabago on minor-league contracts

The Detroit Tigers continue to add free agents leading up to the organization’s mid-February minicamp in Lakeland, Florida.

The Tigers recently signed right-handed reliever Carlos Sanabria and catcher Chris Rabago to minor-league deals. Although MLB free agents can’t sign contracts during the lockout, minor-league free agents can do so.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 16 to the Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, so Sanabria and Rabago should arrive sometime around then. Minicamp is for players not on the 40-man roster.

Sanabria signed with the Houston Astros in 2014 as an international free agent from Venezuela. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut and pitched two games for the Astros in August 2020. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts over two innings.

He joined the Kansas City Royals in 2021 but didn’t advance past Triple-A Omaha. He finished with a 3.86 ERA, 36 walks and 59 strikeouts in 58⅓ innings across 38 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas (20 games) and Omaha (18 games).

Sanabria had a 5.27 ERA in Triple-A level last season.

Spanning his seven-year minor-league career, Sanabria owns a 3.82 ERA, 11.2% walk rate and 23% strikeout rate in 181 games (30 starts).

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Unlike Sanabria, Rabago is still waiting for his MLB debut.

The Colorado Rockies drafted Rabago in the 13th round in 2014 out of UC Irvine. He has seven years of experience in the minors for the Rockies (2014-18, 2019, 2021) and New York Yankees (2018).

The 28-year-old spent the 2021 season in Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .234 with three home runs, 21 walks and 43 strikeouts in 53 games. He posted a 37% caught-stealing rate (15-for-41), just below the 38% rate for his career.

Rabago has been behind the plate for 3,263⅔ innings in his professional career. He is a .248 hitter with 15 homers, a 9.3% walk rate and 19.5% strikeout rate in 444 minor-league games.

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Here’s an updated list of the Tigers’ minor-league deals this offseason:

RHP Jacob Barnes

RHP Carlos Sanabria

RHP Markus Solbach

RHP Jesus Rodriguez

RHP Carlos Guzman

RHP A.J. Ladwig

RHP Luis Castillo

RHP Gerson Moreno

RHP Ricardo Pinto

INF Luis Carpio