The Toronto Blue Jays brought back a former Top 100 MLB Pipeline prospect Friday.
It was announced by the team on Friday afternoon that Eric Paridnho has re-signed to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Moreover, catcher Ali Sánchez and Eric Lauer each signed a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training, but we’ve already written about that.
The Blue Jays signed Pardinho out of Brazil during the 2017 international free agency period. After a great 2018 season, Pardinho ascended the prospect ranking, ranking as the 98th-best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline in 2019
However, Pardinho suffered an elbow injury and had to get Tommy John surgery in Feb. 2020. The Brazilian had a setback in 2021, pitching just three innings, before returning in the second half of the 2022 season. Once he hit High-A, Paridnho struggled mightily, both in 2022 and in 2023.
Something changed for Pardinho in 2024. The 23-year-old started the season in Double-A, posting a 1.01 ERA and a 2.22 FIP in 26.2 innings pitched, along with a 34.9 K% and a 9.4 BB%. From Apr. 24 until Jun. 19, Pardinho pitched 23 scoreless innings with a 38.1 K% and an 11.9 BB%, giving him a 1.91 FIP and a 0 ERA. This included one game in Triple-A.
Pardinho’s start in Triple-A wasn’t great as he posted a 9.18 ERA and a 7.47 FIP through his first 16.2 innings, with a higher BB% (19.8%) than K% (16.3%). However, he had another month-long scoreless run, finishing the year with a 0 ERA and a 1.32 FIP in 12 innings pitched. This included a 34.9 K% and a 2.3 BB%.
It was a bit of a shock when the two parties separated in early November due to his great results the year prior. However, it seemed likely that the Blue Jays would have an interest in bringing the 23-year-old back, similar to what happened with Rafael Lantigua last off-season.

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