Reds sign reliever Buck Farmer to $2.25 million, 1-year contract

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds brought back Buck Farmer on Thursday, signing the reliever to a $2.25 million, one-year contract.

Farmer became a free agent after he went 4-5 with three saves and a 4.20 ERA in 71 appearances for Cincinnati this year. The right-hander had a 2-2 record with two saves and a 3.83 ERA in 44 games in 2022, his first season with the Reds.

He can earn $350,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched: $50,000 each for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65. He had a $1.75 million, one-year contract for this season.

Buck Farmer, one of the workhouse relievers in the Reds' bullpen last season, signed a $2.25 million deal to return in 2024.

Cincinnati also designated outfielder Bubba Thompson for assignment. The 25-year-old Thompson is a .242 hitter with a homer and 13 RBIs in 92 big league games — all with Texas.

Farmer, a Georgia native who turns 33 in February, was selected by Detroit in the fifth round of the 2013 amateur draft. He made his major league debut with the Tigers in 2014.

He is 21-28 with a 4.98 ERA in 356 career games, including 21 starts.

Reliever Buck Farmer returns to Cincinnati Reds on $2.25 million, one-year contract

Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer

Updated Thu, December 28, 2023 at 9:23 PM GMT+1·1 min read

One of the big workhorses in the Cincinnati Reds’ Clydesdale of a bullpen last season has returned as a free agent on a one-year deal.

Right-hander Buck Farmer, whose 71 appearances tied for fifth with teammate Alexis Diaz in the National League, signed a $2.25 million deal for 2024, a raise of $500,000 over his 2023 salary.

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Farmer, who will be 33 when the season opens, had a 4.20 ERA with a 4-5 record and three saves across 75 innings last season – after producing a 3.83 ERA in 44 appearances in 2022, when the Reds originally acquired him as a free agent in May.

Reliever Buck Farmer was a workhorse for the Reds in 2023. He pitched 75 innings, going 4-5 with a 4.20 ERA. In 44 games in 2022, he posted a 3.83 ERA.

His signing this week means the 2023 Reds bullpen returns almost intact after logging the second-highest innings total (652 1/3) in the National League with a 4.11 group ERA and top-five NL fWAR of 5.9.

In addition to Diaz and Farmer, Ian Gibaut, whose 74 appearances were just one off the league lead, also is back.

Outfielder Bubba Thompson was designated for assignment by the Reds to make room on the 40-man roster for Farmer.