Dodgers' division rival steals hard-throwing (but flawed) minor-league reliever from LA

The Dodgers' biggest international free agent signing of the 2015-2016 window was, unquestionably, Yordan Álvarez, who signed in June 2016 for a $2 million signing bonus when he was just 19 years old. The Dodgers couldn't really have known what Álvarez was going to turn into when he was traded to the Astros just a few months later in exchange for reliever Josh Fields; if they had, they might've kept him.

Álvarez wasn't the only international prospect to join the organization that year, and he wasn't even the highest-paid — pitcher Yaisel Serra, who never saw the majors before he was released in 2021, received a $30 million bonus — but he represented the only one who would eventually break into the majors in a big way.

17-year-old pitcher Juan Morillo was also signed during that period, with an unknown signing bonus. He started in the Dominican Summer League in 2016 and stayed there until 2018, when he got his stateside Rookie ball debut in the Arizona Complex League.

For the next few seasons (he didn't pitch in either 2020 due to COVID, nor 2022 due to an injury), he oscillated between Rookie ball, Single-A, and High-A, and was eventually promoted to Double-A in 2024, almost a decade after he was drafted.

On Nov. 4, he elected minor-league free agency, and on Sunday he signed a new minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks sign former Dodgers prospect Juan Morillo to a minor league deal

This is sort of a Dodgers-esque move on Arizona's part — LA loves to pick up a discarded pitcher off the scrap heap and try to rehabilitate them into workable major league pieces — but after so much time spent in the low levels of the minors with the Dodgers, it'd make sense why Morillo would want to move on to another club.

He pitched to a 4.76 ERA this season over 51 innings, all in relief, and is credited with three holds and one save. His velocity is his biggest selling point, with a fastball averaging 99 MPH and sometimes pushing to 102, but he does seem to have a control issue; he has a career 4.61 BB/9 rate.

There's always the slight chance that the D-backs are able to get Morillo to the majors, but for now, we wish him happy trails.