Dontrelle Willis hasn’t been healthy and effective since 2006, but Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the 29-year-old left-hander will make his latest comeback attempt with the Reds after agreeing to a minor-league contract today.
Willis was let go by the Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Giants last season while posting a 5.62 ERA with more walks (56) than strikeouts (47) in 65.2 innings, and dating back to 2007 he’s 13-24 with a 5.81 ERA and 228/206 K/BB ratio in 329 total innings.
Willis’ raw stuff is perhaps still good enough to get big-league hitters out even through his velocity has definitely declined compared to his 2003-2005 peak, but the quality of his stuff will remain a moot point as long as he can’t consistently throw the ball over the plate.
He’s someone to root for, but Willis is facing some awfully long odds at this stage.