Farmer agreed Wednesday with the Reds on a minor-league contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
Farmer has spent parts of each of the past eight seasons in the majors with the Tigers, logging a collective 5.33 ERA and 1.52 WHIP across 241 appearances (21 starts). He's working exclusively as a reliever at this stage of his career, and his limited success at the big-league level in 2021 resulted in the Tigers designating him for assignment on two occasions before releasing him last August. He then caught on with the Rangers on a minor-league deal, turning in a 3.60 ERA over 15 innings with Triple-A Round Rock before electing free agency earlier in the offseason. The Reds will likely give Farmer the chance to compete for a spot in their Opening Day bullpen, but the prevailing expectation is that he'll head to Triple-A Louisville to begin the season.