Garrett  quickly went from being unknown to being a legitimate prospect in two sports. He didn't start playing organized basketball until his freshman year but jumped onto the varsity from day one. He has grown into a 6-foot-6 wing player with explosive leaping ability and  committed to St. John's in 2011, his senior year at Findlay Prep High School in Henderson, Nevada.

Amir is also interested in playing baseball. While playing on a travel basketball team during the summer of 2010, Garrett made time to pitch in the Tournament of Stars.

He finally gave up basketball after the 2014 season. After all, it’s hard to stay ahead of professional hitters when you’re spending three quarters of your year working on another sport. And Garrett agrees he’s a better pitcher now that he’s given up playing college basketball.

“It was fun doing both though,” he said.

But it’s not just the added innings and increased instruction that have made him a better pitcher. It’s helped a lot that Garrett has been able to rework his body.

When he played two sports, he did a lot of lifting to hold up on the basketball court. He tried to keep his weight around 210 pounds to ensure he stayed quick enough to handle his responsibilities out on the wings. Now that he’s a full-time pitcher, Garrett doesn’t need to be as quick, but he needs to be stronger. So he’s now bulked up to 225 pounds, primarily adding weight to his trunk and legs to increase his stamina and add to his stuff. (J.J. Cooper - Baseball America - 7/31/2015)

Amir has a throwing program that incorporates yoga, long-toss and resistance training.

Garrett does a fine job of making adjustments. He is very coachable and a quick learner.

In 2011, Garrett got drafted by the Reds (see Transactions below). 

In 2012, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Garrett as the 18th-best prospect in the Reds' organization. He was at #15 in the winter before 2013 spring camps opened. They had him at #18 in the offseason before 2014 spring training.

He was rated at 7th-best in the spring of 2015, then moved up to #3 a year later in 2016, and he stayed at 3rd-best in the Reds' farm system in the spring of 2017.

Garrett disclosed that, at least in the interim, he will focus on baseball. Amir was a 22nd-round pick of the Reds in 2011.

Better known as a basketball player in high school, Garrett caused a stir shortly before the 2011 draft. He wowed scouts as a 6-foot-5 lefthander who could reach 96 mph, and the Reds gambled on him in the 22nd round. They paid him a $1 million bonus while allowing him to play hoops at St. John's.

When his playing time dipped as a sophomore at St. John's, he opted to transfer to Cal State-Northridge, which meant he had to sit out this season per NCAA rules.  Garrett's hoops inactivity allowed him to report to Spring Training this year, and he arrived in Goodyear, Arizona in mid-February. He says he hasn't given up on basketball yet, but his development could really take off if he focused solely on baseball.

"He's been outstanding," Reds farm director Jeff Graupe said. "He's an impressive kid who throws hard, has a plus slider and a fringy changeup that's going to get better with time. It's a fresh arm, a power arm. You can really dream on him. There are not many 6-foot-5 left-handers with his athleticism and arm." (3/31/14)

On August 8, 2014, Amir informed the  Reds' organization that he would be ending his college basketball career and focusing solely on baseball.

When Garrett was drafted by the Reds in 2011, he was also playing basketball for St. John's University and transferred to Cal-State Northridge in 2013. Now it's just baseball for Garrett going forward. (8/12/14)

“I love baseball, I always knew what my heart was telling me,” Garrett said. “I prayed about it. I felt like it was the right choice and I felt like it was at the right time, too. I didn’t want to rush it. I felt good with my decision, too.

"I played basketball maybe two months in the summer, went to school, made the varsity basketball team, started and averaged a double-double,” Garrett said. “I was horrible, but I liked basketball—and I got really good at it.

“I was always a baseball guy growing up. I played with a lot of top guys. I played with Bryce Harper and Joey Gallo (in high school in Henderson, Nev.) Basketball just came along. I heard someone say once that basketball was a dream-killer, if you play other sports. It’ll definitely take you away.” (C. Trent Rosencrans - Baseball America - 4/24/15)

Amir is 6-5, 210 pounds and has a wingspan of 80-inches and a 32-inch vertical leap.

Amir was selected by the Reds to play in the 2015 Futures Game.

Garrett was named the Reds organization's 2015 Pitching Prospect of the Year (Sept., 2015). He was the best starting pitcher in the Florida State League, finishing second in ERA (2.44) and strikeouts (133) and third in opponent average (.230). He led the field with 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

July 8, 2016:  When Garrett gets to San Diego to participate in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game for the second time, he will be coming in on a roll. Garrett, who is ranked as the No. 4 Reds prospect by MLBPipeline.com, was also promoted from Double-A Pensacola to Triple-A Louisville.

"Amir has done a great job at continuing to get better and better," Reds director of player development Jeff Graupe said by phone. "The arrow seems to be pointed way up, and he's progressed way faster than we even expected him to."

The Reds took somewhat of a chance on Garrett when they drafted him in the 22nd round in 2011 and gave him a seven-figure bonus. A college basketball player at the time, his pitching experience was raw, but he could throw in the mid 90s. By 2014, he gave up basketball to focus on pitching, and his trajectory in the Reds' organization picked up speed.  He is still developing a slider and changeup to work with his fastball that can reach 96 mph. (M Sheldon - MLB.com - July 8, 2016)

Oct 12, 2016: In a small conference room in the lowest level of Louisville Slugger Field sat Reds prospect Amir Garrett; the plush office chair underneath him dwarfed by the frame of the 6-foot-5, 210-pound left-hander.

Leaning back, hands behind his head, Garrett's posture carried a certain aloofness. Although soft-spoken, his words paint the picture of a competitive and confident player. "There's always room for improvement," Garrett said. "I think I'm, for the most part, pretty much ready [for the Majors] right now."

After his 2016 campaign, Garrett has a lot to be confident about. In his second full year since foregoing his basketball career to focus on baseball, Garrett made some of the biggest strides of any player in the organization. With a plus fastball and slider, Garrett blazed through his first season of Double-A with a 1.75 ERA in 12 starts. Midway through the season, Garrett earned a call up to Triple-A Louisville and posted a 3.46 ERA in 11 starts, finishing his season with a combined 2.55 ERA in 145 innings and earning the Reds' Pitcher Prospect of the Year Award by MLBPipeline.com.

"I think it's gone really, really well, better than I'd expect," Garrett said. "I ran into some troubles up here [in Louisville], just a little bit, not too much, but I've been able to make adjustments. I think I've been able to handle myself pretty well in this league for the short amount of time that I've been here so far, and I feel like every start I'm learning something new about myself. "While his Double-A dominance produced some eye-popping numbers —it bumped him up to the No. 2 Reds prospect and No. 57 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline's midseason prospect grade—it was how he adjusted in Triple-A that gives the most promising signs for his future.

"He's a quick learner, he makes adjustments pretty fast," Louisville manager Delino DeShields said. "That's rare for a lot of young players. Not just pitchers, but position players as well. It's one thing to work on stuff in the batting cage and work on stuff on the side, but to be able to take it into the game at 7:05 is something different."

"It's [not] whether I think I'm ready for the next step, it's ultimately up to them," Garrett said. "But I think I'm ready."

"I'd have no problem with him starting in a big league ballgame," DeShields said. (C Pace - MLB.com - Oct 12, 2016)

As a high school senior, he won a national slam dunk contest. "I won with a 360 off the side of the backboard. I can't do that anymore," Garrett said. (Mark Sheldon - MLB.com - March 11, 2017 )

Garrett couldn't shake baseball over basketball permanently, in part, because of the memory of his grandfather, Mack Wysinger, who went by "Pops." Wysinger died when Garrett was in eighth grade. It was Pops who turned Garrett on to baseball, and he never forgot.

"He's the one who taught me how to play baseball since I was knee-high," Garrett said. "He made me be a left-handed pitcher. He was left-handed as well. I used to be able to throw with both hands when I was younger. His first love was baseball and he wanted me to be a baseball player, as well."  (Mark Sheldon / MLB.com / March 11, 2017)

April 7, 2017: Garrett was admittedly antsy waiting to make his Major League debut against the Cardinals. "I woke up pretty early, at 7:00 a.m. I was nervous the whole day," Garrett said. 

But Garrett was able to busy himself with some shopping and a nap before coming to the ballpark. Once he stepped into the clubhouse and later, onto the mound, his nerves were checked at the door. The 24-year-old tossed six stellar innings in a 2-0 Reds' blanking of the Cardinals.

"When I came to the ballpark, I just told myself it's another game," Garrett said. "I came in here and talked to the guys, got a couple laughs out of Finny [Brandon Finnegan], Rookie [Davis], talked to them. I just went out there, and just had fun with it."

Garrett allowed two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. No Cardinals batters reached second base when he was on the mound. He was the third Reds pitcher since 1913—and the first since Wayne Simpson in 1970—to throw six or more scoreless innings in his big league debut. It was also the first time a Reds pitcher debuted with a win against St. Louis since Keith Brown on Aug. 25, 1988. Of the 78 pitches Garrett threw, 40 were his four-seam fastball, and it averaged 91 mph and topped out at 93 mph according to Statcast.

"I was mostly fastball-changeup to lefties," Garrett said. "I threw a slider a little bit. I was able to spot up my fastball really well, going in and out, up and down. My changeup was really good. That was the pitch for me [used five times] I felt was the key of the game."

"Extremely mature and polished young guy. That was a very impressive debut," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "From what I've seen of Amir, he just doesn't self-inflict and doesn't get himself in trouble, and not trusting his stuff. He has great faith in his ability, and that allows everything he does to play up a notch."

The Reds No. 2 prospect, and No. 64 overall, according to MLBPipeline.com, Garrett won a rotation spot with a strong spring. Despite a sojourn into high school and college basketball from ninth grade until 2014, Garrett focused full time on baseball by 2014, three years after the Reds drafted him in 2011. Playing basketball in New York City for St. John's University was an experience Garrett could draw on in front of 44,653 fans at Busch Stadium.

"It helped me a lot," Garrett said. "When I went out there, it was 'I've been here before, just a different sport.' I was able to look around for a second and just see everything. I took it all in stride. I was very happy. It worked out well." (M Sheldon - MLB.com - April 8, 2017)

Jan. 8, 2018: Garrett got engaged to his girlfriend, Tausana.

May 3-6, 2018: Amir was on the bereavement list.

Jan 18, 2019: Amir spent the morning grinding at the Reds' Spring Training complex in Goodyear. Camp starts soon, and the lefthander wants to be ready when pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks. He's either going to start or pitch out of the bullpen this season, and he's fine doing either job. He's just as confident that his team is going to surprise the doubters this year. Plus, there's a new manager and pitching coach in Cincinnati to impress. But the lefty's biggest delivery of the day came during his lunch break, 30 miles east of the club's complex and nowhere near a mound. The pitch was perfect.

"This is it, guys. You are very fortunate. Take in this experience," Garrett said to the 60 participants at this year's Dream Series. "Remember what this looks like, what this smells like, and how this feels. You might be at a Spring Training clubhouse now, but this is the big leagues, and let me tell you this, there is nothing better than being in the Major Leagues and being a Major League player." 

The Dream Series, which runs in connection with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is designed to develop pitchers and catchers for a future in baseball and diversify the future talent pool. The event continues through Monday at Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Angels.

In addition to on-field training with former Major League players, the camp includes daily presentations from people like Garrett, former Major Leaguers, scouts, college administrators and MLB umpires. The event also features information on baseball career opportunities at the collegiate and professional level.

"I think any time you can connect the dots and have kids identify with guys close to their age, instead of me, who is 100 years old, and that's a good thing," said former MLB manager Jerry Manuel, who is serving as an instructor. "Here is somebody who's their age and saying, 'Hey, this is a good sport to be in, it's cool, there's longevity.' It's just rewarding that you have these types of guys that want to speak baseball life into guys that think they have a chance to play."

Garrett shared the ups and downs that came with his unusual path to the big leagues during his 30-minute chat. He elaborated on the experience of being a two-sport star in high school and the responsibility that comes with being an elite athlete at an early age. But most of all, he implored the teens to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.

"I didn't really have this when I was younger playing baseball, but I just feel like it's a good thing for kids," Garrett said. "They get to be out here playing baseball, and they get to know the game from a lot of guys that played it at the highest level for many years. It's a good thing. They just have to take that knowledge and run with it."

The first day of workouts began with high-tech assessments through Prospect Development Pipeline screenings. A few hours later, the pitchers threw bullpens, practiced pickoffs and participated in fielding drills. The groups of catchers worked on defensive drills and conditioning.

"Being around big leaguers, I think it's really fun and very helpful," said right-handed pitcher Evan Adolphus, a senior who has committed to Cal State-Fullerton. "You get to pick their brain on certain things. If we have issues on certain pitches and certain mechanics, they can fix that, when it's not the same as high school coaches teaching it."

Garrett spoke during the lunch hour. The teens wrapped up the first day by hitting in the cages and on the main field. "We had a great first day and there was a lot of good things we saw," said Del Matthews, MLB's senior director for baseball development.

"To have Garrett here, someone that's been a pitcher in the big leagues for a couple of years now and someone that's doing it, it makes it all that more special. It's about sharing information and best practices and motivation and inspiration—all in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., MLK weekend. That's what it's about. It's about fulfilling the dream." (J Sanchez - MLB.cpom - Jan 18, 2019)

2019 Season: A beginning to the season like Garrett had usually ends with an All-Star appearance. Unfortunately, Garrett just missed the cut. Teams with only one All-Star took up three of the pitching spots on the roster, so there just wasn’t space for him.

By the time replacements came around, Garrett was on the injured list with a left lat strain. If healthy, he likely would have been able to add an All-Star season to his resumé. Not only did his injury prevent him from being named to the All-Star squad, but it ended what could have been a historic season for the Cincinnati Reds reliever. Garrett’s first vs second half splits weren’t exactly pretty.

After a 1.70 ERA in the first half, a 6.16 ERA in the second half severely brought his numbers down. Garrett finished the season with a 3.21 ERA, which is respectable, but disappointing compared to the first half of the season. Batters adjusted to Garrett’s slider and he couldn’t readjust. Amir Garrett threw his slider with the same frequency the entire season, right around 57% of the time, with his fastball coming the other 43%. The difference between the first and second half is how often batters were swinging.

Amir had a 1:2 ball-to-strike ratio in the first half. This increased to 2:5 in the second half, or roughly 40% of the time. He wasn’t throwing more pitches out of the zone, batters just knew not to swing at them. His walk rate increased to 5.63 per nine innings.

Garrett’s biggest issue in the second half was the type of contact batters made. His hard contact rate increased from 33% in the first half to 46% in the second half. Garrett had a 1.89 HR/9 in the second half as opposed to a 0.73 HR/9 in the first half.

In order to have a successful 2020, Amir Garrett needs to find a new way to get batters out. The league figured out his slider and he needs to adjust again. If Garrett can make the necessary adjustments, the Reds have a tremendous lefty on their hands. (Allie Kaylor - Oct. 12, 2019)

Amir was already an admitted homebody when at his house in Las Vegas, even before most of the country was forced to stay inside because of the coronavirus pandemic. But Garrett was still doing all he could to stay in shape—and stay in touch. That included a text to teammates.

“’Hey boys, stay ready so we don't have to get ready when the time comes,’” Garrett said of the message he sent.  To that end, he was doing his part to stay baseball-ready while staying safe.

“In these types of situations, you have to adapt,” he said. “My backyard, it's about 70 to 75 feet wall to wall, so it's not that big back here. I do have a little mat that I throw at, it has a hitter. I have a neighbor that played baseball in college, he's one of our close friends. He comes and plays catch with me in the middle of the street, or we play in the grass part across from the house.

“We work out at home, me and my fiancée. We have stuff here that we're able to use. We're just trying to adapt to what we've got. It's definitely tough trying to get your full routine in, but we make it work.

“Hopefully, we get things up and running again. That last rep, that last sprint, I'm not always the type of guy who wants to do that, go the extra mile and do the extra stuff. Now I think that's all going to change, from now on. It shows that the game can be taken away that fast. Hopefully, I don't take this for granted again once we start up again.”

Garrett had a desire to improve his 2019 offseason preparation, and also to monitor how much rest and sleep he got during the season so he can handle the rigors of being available almost daily. He believes adjusting to returning from the layoff will be better for relievers.

“It's definitely easier,” he said. “The mindset for me is always the same: Go out and do your job. I don't want to make excuses for anything ever in life. I'm not going to let something like this stop me. So when the time comes, I'll be ready and I'll be full go.”  (Sheldon - mlb.com - 4/2/2020)

Sept. 6, 2020: Amir is a friendly fellow who has a generally calm demeanor. But on the mound, the intense lefty gets fired up and shows his emotions when he records big outs in the late innings. According to Garrett, that vocal pitcher is some other guy. Garrett refers to him as “A.G.”

“I'm Amir right now, but that guy on the mound? That's a crazy guy,” Garrett said. “That guy's a psychopath. A.G. is crazy, I'm telling you. That guy is something else. But the energy he brings? I feel like the team picks up on it. And you know, I feel like that helps the team in key moments and stuff like that, you know, that's what we need." (Mark Sheldon)

Garrett admits A.G. might rub some opponents the wrong way. Guess what? He doesn't care!

A.G. is demonstrative and vocal, and a guy who breaks out a celebratory hop when he induces an inning-ending strikeout. That's the same guy who walked off the Great American Ballpark mound in July 2019 to challenge the entire Pirates dugout in what became a free-for-all brawl.

"We're grown men here. That's just me being competitive. When they talk to me, they cans ask me, but I can't really speak for A.G.," Amir said.

"So when they get me, I expect them to do something, and I'll never get upset. You've got to take it.  You've got to take it on the chin. You've got to take your licks, but when I get them, they're going to feel it too. It's just competitive nature . . . and man, forget all the unwritten rules I don't care about those. Well, I do. But A.G. don't care about those." (Mark Schmetzer - Reds Report - Nov., 2020)

May 11-16, 2021:  Amir began serving his five-game suspension. His suspension comes from his role in a benches-clearing incident on May 1 against the Cubs.  Garrett was originally given a seven-game suspension, but MLB and the MLBPA came to an agreement to reduce it to five.  (Guerrero - mlb.com - 5/11/2021)

July 23-26, 2021: Garrett was on the Paternity list.

May 17-20, 2023: Garrett returns after landing on the family medical emergency list following his wife’s emergency appendectomy. 

TRANSACTIONS

June 2011: The Reds chose Garrett in the 22nd round, out of Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. They signed him on the August 15 deadline for a bonus of $1 million. The contract allowed him to also accept a basketball scholarship to St. John's. But the Reds have some protection because the bonus is spread out over five years. Clark Crist is the scout who signed Amir.

Jan 15, 2021: Garrett and the Reds avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $1.5 million.

March 16, 2022: The Royals Acquired LHP Amir Garrett from Cincinnati in exchange for LHP Mike Minor and a conditional cash consideration.

March 22, 2022: Garrett and the Royals avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.025 million.

Jan 13, 2023: Amir and the Royals avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $2.65 million. 

July 27, 2023: The Guardians signed left-hander Amir Garrett to a minor league deal.

Aug. 24, 2023: The Guardians announced that left-hander Amir Garrett, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate, has requested and been granted his release.

Garrett is a strong-armed lefthander. He has a 90-97 mph  4-seam FASTBALL with some natural tail that he can throw to both sides of the plate. He has a decent  78-81 mph SLIDER (which is also called a curveball) that has excellent shape and some bite for his swing-and-miss pitch. He also has an 80-83 mph CHANGEUP that he throws with good arm speed, messing up a hitter's timing.

Amir can throw his slider for strikes and at any time in the count, but it needs more consistency.

2017 Season Pitch Usage:  Fastball 62.4% of the time; Changeup 15%; and Slider 22.6% of the time.

2018 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 55% of the time, his Sinker 8.2%; Change 3.5%; and Slider 33.4% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 95.8 mph, Sinker 95.5, Change 85.3, and Slider 84.3 mph.

2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 11.8% of the time, his Sinker 30.7%; and Slider 57.5% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 96 mph, Sinker 95.5, and Slider 86.1 mph.

2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 39.3% of the time, his Sinker 5.1%; and Slider 55.6% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 95 mph, Sinker 94.5, and Slider 85.4 mph.

Amir has a high three-quarters arm slot and he gets some tilt on his breaking pitch. When signed, he was extremely raw in all aspects of baseball. And he hasn't had much experience since then. So he has trouble repeating his delivery, still.

That is because, with extremely long legs and arms, the 6-foot-5 lefty has to work to repeat his delivery, and he’s slow to the plate.

But Garrett was far more comfortable with repeating his mechanics  by the end of the 2015 season. But it is still a high-energy delivery, so he will never have plus command. (Spring, 2016)

He exhibits good composure on the mound. "He's got a different swagger on the mound," Louisville manager Delino DeShields said midway through the 2016 season. "His competitiveness is really sticking out, to me. He carries himself a little different from the other pitchers that you might see. His swagger is probably a little different —probably because he played a little hoops."

And the 6-5 southpaw sees the batter vs. pitcher matchup—the heart of baseball—as a battle similar to a one-on-one game of hoops.

"I always have that mentality," Amir said. "Basketball is different. When you go up against somebody, it's like, 'You're not better than me.' It's something that you just have within you. When I go out there and pitch every five days, I see a batter and I'm like, 'You're not going to win this battle."

“They don’t expect it,” Garrett said at the Futures Game. “It’s a big difference (between) my changeup to my fastball. The miles-per-hour difference helps a lot.”

That helped reinforce the message that was given to him by big league manager Bryan Price in spring training: Work on that pitch.

“My changeup has come a long way,” said Garrett, 24. “It’s become a pitch I go to a lot now. Some days I throw it more than my slider. It’s been a pitch that’s really, really taken my game to the next level. That’s what they told me in spring training, that I had to work on my changeup, and something just clicked in my head.”

In 2015, Garrett said he would throw three to five changeups per start, and this year (2016) he throws as many as five times that number. (C. Trent Rosencrans - Cincinnati Enquirer - August, 2016)

In 2016, Garrett was the MLBPipeline.com Reds Minor League Pitching Prospect of the year.

Garrett can be a mid-rotation starter with improved command. Otherwise he could have a lengthy career as a lefthanded reliever relying on his fastball and slider.

Amir stands on the hill as if that mound is his own personal property, daring anyone to set foot on it.

That is why before every inning he walks to the back of the mound and draws a huge "A" in the dirt. That's "A" as in Amir.

"That's something I've always done since I began pitching," Garrett said. "I look at it as if, 'This is my mound, my domain. That's my home right there.' I do that every game, every inning—carve that "A" in there."

Not only does Garrett protect the mound like a junkyard dog, or like his pit bull Dozer. ("His name is Dozer, because he is like a bulldozer," Garrett said.) Amir stays cool, calm and collected. (Hal McCoy - Reds Report - May, 2017).

2018 Improvements: "He's aggressive. He's doing exactly what he did in Spring Training, that's attacking the zone and coming after the hitters with his best stuff," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He's varying his times to the plate, he's offsetting the timing of the hitters with his slide step and his regular delivery, and he's been able to get that slider over also, which has really helped."

The slide step is a tool for pitchers to speed up their delivery, especially with runners on base. But Garrett also has been doing it with the bases empty. He began working on it during the offseason after he recovered from a right hip injury that required stem cell, platelet-rich plasma injections and rehab to correct.

"I thought I would have to make an adjustment for my hip. I don't really need it, but it feels good doing it," Garrett said. "It throws off the hitters' timing a lot. If I can do that a couple of times, and then they see my regular leg kick if I go to that, it's a good weapon for me to have.

"This game is changing. People are doing stuff in the windups, and the stretch and everything. People are finding new tricks. I'm just trying to trick the hitter." (Mark Sheldon - MLB.com - April 6, 2018)

A few months after Garrett’s 19th birthday, the Reds selected the southpaw in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft. Shortly thereafter, they introduced him to a pitch other than his mid-90s fastball. Whether or not it’s a slider is an exercise in semantics.

“I didn’t know how to pitch, so I was just flicking a ball in there,” explained Garrett. “Curveball, slider, whatever I was calling it is what it was at the time. Kind of the same now. Whatever I throw, that’s what it is. I guess it’s a slider. I don’t know.”

Lee Tunnell knows what it is. As Cincinnati’s bullpen coach, he understands the intricacies of Garrett’s go-to secondary better than anybody. Does Tunnell consider it a slider? Let’s just say I used the term when asking about the pitch, and he used the term in return. Which doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. Or that it isn’t.

“It’s not your typical slider,” Tunnell said. “The movement profile is different. It’s different from what you’d probably see from an analytical standpoint. It’s unique. He can throw it to lots of different places and it can still be effective.”

Garrett’s “slider” has a low spin rate [roughly 1,800 rpm] and only a modicum of horizontal break. The vertical movement is decent, but not to the point where the pitch could be categorized as a ground-ball-inducer. Velocity-wise, it’s 10 mph slower than his heater.

Did that describe a changeup?  Or maybe it’s simply a slider that doesn’t slide? A backup slider, or the fabled gyroball. Both can flummox. A batter will read slider spin out of the hand, and react to movement that never materializes.

All Garrett knows is that he throws it, and it works. His thought process is rudimentary: “I literally just grab it and throw it as hard as I can. Just grip and rip.”

But again, what is he gripping-and-ripping? Tunnell called it, “Not your typical slider,” and that seems reasonable enough. Maybe Garrett’s description better: “Whatever I throw, that’s what it is.”

Amir's impressive 2019 season was a turnaround for him. What was the genesis of his improvement?

"Confidence," Garrett said. "I did some soul-searching. I talked to myself and asked myself, 'Do I want to be good or do I want to be great?' I want to be the best I possibly can. What I was doing the last two years wasn't going to ge me anywhere in this game. It took a long look in the mirror and told myself that I want to be one of the best.

"It's the confidence and the mental part," he added. "You have to be able to do that. There's more to this game than being able to play physically."

Reds manager David Bell said he won't hesitate to use Garrett at whatever Bell considers to be the key moment of a game.

"He's basically pitching in situations that are as important as they get," Bell said. "He's pitching in the middle of the lineup a lot of times. He's pitching against the best hitters on the team. He's so competitive. He loves being out there."

Hitters know Garrett is going to throw sliders.

"The lefthanders that have success out of the bullpen, a lot of times they have a pitch like that," Bell said. "Amir has developed that slider where he is throwing it with confidence. I think that pitch helps him against right-handed hitters as well."

The average speed on his slider was 79.5 mph in 2017, and that velocity increased to 83.6 mph in 2018, and 85.3 mph in 2019. It also has less spin than normal sliders, causing it to move differently.

"Guys are going to hit it. It's not an untouchable pitch," Amir said. "My whole thing is when I do throw it and guys do hit it, that it's a groundball or I'm giving up weak contact on it. That's my main goal." (Mark Schmetzer - Reds Report - July, 2019)

Aug 12-20, 2019: Garrett's eight-game suspension was completed, and he was back on the active roster. He was suspended by MLB for his part in a bench-clearing brawl on July 30 vs. the Pirates, and he appealed before serving his punishment. He was able to be with the team for pregame workouts but had to leave before the games.

“I came to the field eight days and I was useless,” Garrett said. “It’s very tough to watch my team compete without me. I love being here. I love being around these guys. I love going to battle with them every single day. We’re still in it. I always say we can run off 10 straight and be good. It’s a crucial time for us. Me being gone the eight games is crucial time for us as well, but I’m back now and I’m ready to go.”

2020 Season: Garrett continued to shine out of the Reds bullpen throughout the  season. Appearing in 21 games, AG tossed 18.1 innings and compiled an impressive 2.45 ERA while collecting his first major league save. However, those numbers don’t adequately reflect Garrett’s true value to the team.

Throughout the shortened 2020 campaign, Garrett established career highs in a number of categories including the aforementioned ERA, ERA+ (197), WHIP (0.93), H/9 (4.9) and K/9 (12.8) rates. In other words, manager David Bell could count on AG. Nevertheless, the Reds skipper was careful in the way that Garrett was used this past season.

Despite being one of the most valuable weapons out of the Reds bullpen, Garrett tossed fewer than 15 pitches in more than half of his appearances and only logged more than one inning of work three times while never going longer than 1.1 innings. No reliever who spent the entire season on the Reds roster threw fewer pitches than Garrett’s 299 total.

However, there may be good reason for Bell to be hesitant to go too deep into games with Garrett. Righthanded hitters posted a .538 slugging rate and took AG deep four times in 39 at-bats. As a result, it was probably prudent on Bell’s part to use Garrett when more favorable matchups were presented to the 28-year-old lefthander.

Lefthanded hitters managed just one hit in 23 at-bats and whiffed 12 times against Garrett. You can’t be more dominant than that. It’s also this disparity in the splits that prevents Garrett from being a serious contender as a potential closer. If he were entrusted to record the final three outs, rest assured he would see plenty of righthanded bats and that would not play to his strength at all.

As good as AG was in 2020, it wasn’t a perfect season and they are some areas that need attention. For starters, his 2.0 HR/9 rate was his highest since his rookie campaign of 2017 where he spent the majority of the season as a starter. Next, his FIP of 4.34 was also his highest rate since 2017, which may indicate there was a bit of good fortune on Amir’s side as well. (Scott Boyken- Oct. 5, 2020)

“To me, it’s mine to lose,” Garrett said. “I’m just going to go in there and take it. Not a lot of things are earned, and nothing is given. I’m just going to go and take it.”

Garrett, 28, has already informed manager David Bell of his intentions to fill that role. Bell mentioned that Garrett would be a candidate, along with Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone. The club could also add a reliever from outside the organization.

“I don’t see who else would get the role,” Garrett said. “I know there’s a lot of guys who are deserving, but I’ve done this consistently for three years. I’ve waited my turn. Management and David know I want to be a closer. I understand that nothing is given. Basically, nothing is earned either. With this organization, I earned the fifth starter’s spot in 2018, and if you guys remember, I had a really good spring. They told me, ‘If you pitch good, you will get this spot.’ I pitched outstanding and still didn’t get it, and they put me in the bullpen, which is fine.

“Even if I earn it, I know I’m not going to get it, so I have to go and take it. That’s what I’m going to do, go and take it. The competition for the job is going to be awesome. It’s going to elevate the team, no matter who gets it. It’s going to elevate us as a whole.”

In 2020, Garrett was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 21 games. Lefthanded batters went 1-for-23 (.043) with 12 strikeouts while right-handers were 9-for-39 (.231) with 14 strikeouts. He retired the first batter in 18 of his appearances, including each of his first 15 appearances to begin the season.

Garrett broke into the Majors as a starting pitcher for the Reds in 2017, but he has been a reliever the past three seasons. He has a 3.65 ERA in 158 career relief appearances.

“It’s time to go to the next level. I want to be a lockdown closer,” Garrett said. “I want to come into the ninth inning, and I want to shut the game down. That’s my mentality. You guys know how I pitch. I’m a dog out there. I’m fiery. I do what I do and have fun playing the game. I feel that’s what my calling is.”

Garrett earned his lone career save last season vs. the Pirates on Sept. 15, when Iglesias and Archie Bradley were not available.

“That time, I was out for a little bit with discomfort. I wasn’t even at my best that time, and I got that save. Imagine me at my best,” Garrett said. “That one [save], I tell everybody it’s like dunking. After my first dunk [in eighth-grade basketball], I was able to do any dunk. I was able to dunk at any point in time. It’s just like a domino effect.” (M Sheldon - MLB.com - Dec 15, 2020)

2021 Season: Count on AG? Not in 2021. My goodness, was there any player on the Reds who had a more disappointing 2021 campaign than Amir Garrett? While there were a few bright spots, you can probably count them on one hand. Let’s pass out a grade for Garrett’s 2021 performance.

Garrett, believe it or not, led all Reds pitchers in appearances (63). However, outside of Heath Hembree (10), no Cincinnati reliever gave up more home runs than AG (9). The self-professed closer was bad right from the jump.

While Garrett gained a save during his first action of the season, he hardly faced the minimum. The southpaw didn’t appear in a single game during the opening weekend series versus the St. Louis Cardinals. But, against the Pirates on April 5, AG finally took the mound.

AG battled six batters, allowed two hits (including one home run) and one walk while recording one punch-out. In fact, the very first batter that Garrett faced this past season took him deep. Garrett’s first outing was a precursor of what would be his worst season in a Reds uniform.

Garrett should be relieved this offseason. Now, while Amir Garrett may think of himself as a world-beater, let’s not go nuts. The Reds reliever only owned a 0.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference, heading into the season. Garrett’s WAR now sits at zero after posting a –0.3 WAR in 2021.

Garrett got off to a horrible start, but unfortunately, it never really got much better. During the month of April, AG owned a 12.27 ERA and 7.83 xFIP. While it’s a small sample size, those are not good at all.

Garrett’s performance in May was much better, but following his role in a benches-clearing incident with then-Cubs shortstop Javier Báez, the lefthander was forced to serve a five-game suspension. During the second month of the season, AG successfully dropped his ERA to 7.80 and had 16 strikeouts over 15 innings of work.

Amir Garrett did have nice stretch of games from mid-June through the All-Star break when the 29-year-old went 8.1 innings without allowing a run and struck 14 batters while posting a 15.12 K/9.

Garrett’s biggest issue all season were the free passes. AG allowed 29 walks, posted a 5.48 BB/9 and 13.5% walk-rate. Reds Country knows all too well that walks will haunt, and Garrett led all relievers in that category. (Drew Koch - Oct. 11, 2021)

Garrett's basketball skills translated to the defensive responsibilities of a pitcher.

Amir has improved his ability to hold runners and quickening his times to home plate. He takes a rapid 1.1 seconds to get the ball to the plate. (Spring, 2016)

May 24-June 4, 2017: Garrett was on the DL with right hip inflammation.

Aug 29-Sept. 10, 2018: Garrett was on the DL with bone bruise on left foot.

July 3-Aug 20, 2019: Amir was on the IL with left lat strain.

May 26-June 12, 2022: Garrett was placed on the IL.

May 29-Jume 30, 2023: Amir was on the IL with left elbow valgus extension. overload.

June 2, 2023: Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Garrett’s injury was similar to a bone bruise, and that Garrett received an injection to help the inflammation.