The Diamondbacks signed left-hander Travis Blackley to a major-league deal, adding the former prospect to their 40-man roster.
Blackley’s numbers don’t give you much to get excited about -- at age 25 last season, he put up a 5.41 ERA in 123 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley -- but the Diamondbacks saw him pitching in Mexico this winter and liked what they saw.
Blackley was once a big-time pitching prospect for the Seattle Mariners. Before the 2004 season, Baseball America called him the Mariners’ No. 3 prospect -- behind Felix Hernandez and Clint Nageotte -- after he won the Texas League’s pitcher of the year, pitched in the Futures Game and tied for the most wins in the minor leagues. Back then, the publication said he was pitching between 88-92 mph.
Blackley’s numbers don’t give you much to get excited about -- at age 25 last season, he put up a 5.41 ERA in 123 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley -- but the Diamondbacks saw him pitching in Mexico this winter and liked what they saw.
Blackley was once a big-time pitching prospect for the Seattle Mariners. Before the 2004 season, Baseball America called him the Mariners’ No. 3 prospect -- behind Felix Hernandez and Clint Nageotte -- after he won the Texas League’s pitcher of the year, pitched in the Futures Game and tied for the most wins in the minor leagues. Back then, the publication said he was pitching between 88-92 mph.
