Blandino signed a minor league deal with the Reds back in November — and most thought that he would function as extra infield depth, but it turns out he’s making the move to the mound. The deal does not yet include an invitation to big league camp and Blandino is expected to begin his pitching career at Double-A Chattanooga. The 31-year-old has made five appearances on the mound in his big league career — showing his knuckleball in three of those outings. Knuckleballers are great for the game of baseball, so we want to wish Blandino all of the success in the world in his transition to pitching.

Blandino augments Cincinnati’s infield depth at Triple-A Louisville heading into the 2024 campaign. The 31-year-old hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2021 campaign when he got into 43 contests for the Reds. He spent the majority of last year in the Mariners’ minor league system, following an early-season trade from the Giants, before being released in early August.

Blandino was traded to the Mariners from the Giants back in May and never wound up appearing in a game for Seattle. The 29-year-old infielder has hit .195/.368/.318 with four homers and eight steals in 71 games this season at the Triple-A level. He should be able to latch on elsewhere on another minor league deal.

The 29-year-old infielder signed a minor league deal with the Giants prior to the season but moves up north to Seattle and outfielder Stuart Fairchild makes his way to San Francisco. This trade seems to help out both teams and will add much-needed depth at each position.