PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres have signed 29-year-old Cuban pitcher Elier Sanchez to a Minor League deal.
Sanchez, a left-hander, doesn't have an invitation to big league camp and he will report to Arizona with the rest of the Padres' Minor League players in early March.
Sanchez reportedly throws between 88-92 mph from multiple arm slots and has a reputation as a strike-thrower.
Sanchez is a veteran of international competition, having pitched in the 2003 and '07 Pan American Games for Cuba and at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he was the winning pitcher in his start, tossing seven scoreless innings against Chinese Taipei.
Cuba went on to win a silver medal in the 2008 Games.
The last team Sanchez pitched for was Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League, as he tossed one scoreless inning in the 2015 season.