The Marlins have signed right-hander Vance Worley to a minor league contract, reports Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Worley will open 2017 in their Triple-A rotation (Twitter link).

Worley, 29, hit the open market when the starter-rich Nationals released him Wednesday. The Marlins then “aggressively” pursued him, tweets Frisaro, and it seems he could crack their rotation sometime this year. Miami’s group of starters features plenty of question marks, while experienced depth options like Justin Nicolino, Odrisamer Despaigne and Kyle Lobstein don’t inspire much confidence.

Even though he’s neither a hard thrower nor a strikeout artist, Worley has generated decent results in the majors, having recorded a 3.75 ERA, 6.76 K/9, 2.87 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent ground-ball rate 595 1/3 innings. The majority of his 135 appearances (85) have come from the rotation. The former Phillie, Twin, Pirate and Oriole owns a 3.89 ERA in 490 1/3 frames as a starter.