The Braves have cornered the market on veteran former Mets relievers named Torres.
They signed Carlos Torres to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, and the 33-year-old right-hander could have a pretty good shot at winning a spot in the bullpen. Six weeks ago, the Braves signed left-hander Alex Torres also to a minor league deal with a spring-training invite. The two pitchers aren’t related.
Carlos Torres, after posting a career-best 3.06 ERA in 2014 in a career-high 73 appearances (one start) and 96 innings for the Mets, slipped to a 4.68 ERA in 59 games last season and was recently DFA’d to open a spot when the Mets signed lefty Antonio Bastardo.
Torres is 23-24 with a 4.26 ERA in 209 games (16 starts) in six seasons with the White Sox, Rockies and Mets, including a 3.92 ERA as a reliever. He spent the past three seasons with the Mets and had a 3.59 ERA in 165 games (10 starts), with 219 strikeouts in 241 innings.
Alex Torres, 28, had a 2.49 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 112 innings during the 2013-2014 seasons with the Rays and Padres, including 70 appearances in 2014 with San Diego. He had a 3.15 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings for the Mets last season, but issued 26 walks and wasn’t effective against left-handed batters.
