Guardians sign four players to minor-league deals

The Guardians have signed four players to minor-league deals with invites to spring training, according to Zack Meisel.

Roman Quinn, who has bounced between the minors and majors with the Phillies and Rays since 2016, only has eight career home runs to his name, but 43 stolen bases and 80-grade speed. He’s basically the perfect Guardians player.

The Phillies released Quinn midway through last season and he was picked up by the Rays to replace the injured Harold Ramirez after the All-Star break. He slashed .262/.340/.405 in 47 plate appearances in Tampa Bay and ended the season in the minor leagues.

While it was in a limited sample size, Quinn ranked 22nd in Baseball Savant’s sprint speed last season, clocking in at 29.6 feet per second at his fastest moments around the bases. Since his debut in 2016, he ranks eighth in all of Major League Baseball in sprint speed at 30.3 feet per second.

Cam Gallagher is further catching depth behind Bo Naylor, Mike Zunino, Bryan Lavastida, and fellow spring training invitee Meibrys Viloria. The first 10 years of his major-league career were spent with the Kansas City Royals before he was traded to the Padres at last year’s trade deadline. He has slashed .240/.302/.355 with seven home runs in 469 career plate appearances.