Martin Prado

Martin Prado Retires

By Connor Byrne | February 13, 2020 at 12:57am CDT

Longtime major leaguer Martin Prado has officially called it a career, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Heyman first reported back in November that Prado was likely to retire.

Now 36 years old, the Venezuela-born Prado began his professional career when he signed with the Braves in 2001. He debuted with the Braves in 2006, and two years later, he started to establish himself as an effective big leaguer. During his Braves heyday from 2008-12, Prado slashed .296/.346/.438 with 51 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 13.2 fWAR in 2,688 plate appearances, garnering time all over the infield and in left field along the way. He also earned his lone All-Star nod (2010) during his run in Atlanta.

Although Prado was rather productive as a Brave, they dealt him to the Diamondbacks prior to the 2013 season in a large trade that sent outfielder Justin Upton to Atlanta. The Diamondbacks quickly locked up Prado to a four-year, $40MM contract, though he only lasted a little more than a season in their uniform. They sent him to the Yankees in July 2014, but his time in New York was also fleeting. After just a few months as a Yankee, they shipped him to the Marlins ahead of the 2015 campaign.

Prado found a multiyear home in Miami, where he finished his career. He was a highly productive member of the Marlins’ roster during his first two seasons with the club, earning yet another $40MM guarantee (this time for three years) in September 2016. However, thanks in part to various injuries, Prado was unable to live up to the payday. He appeared in just 195 of a possible 486 regular-season games from 2017-19, during which he struggled to a .241/.276/.313 line and totaled only five homers in 616 trips to the plate.

Although his time in the majors didn’t end with a flourish, Prado enjoyed a much better career than most. He’ll wrap it up as a lifetime .287/.335/.412 batter with 100 HRs, 40 steals and 20.8 fWAR in 5,861 PA. Prado also earned just over $89MM in MLB, according to Baseball-Reference. MLBTR congratulates Prado for his accomplishments and wishes him well in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Martin Prado Appears Likely To Retire

By Jeff Todd | November 6, 2019 at 12:18pm CDT

Veteran infielder Martin Prado appears to be preparing to call it quits, sources tell Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The 36-year-old reached the open market after wrapping up a three-year extension with the Marlins.

Prado was in the midst of a solid campaign when he re-upped with the Fish late in the 2016 season. It seemed at the time like a bit of a hefty guarantee, but not wildly out of whack for the value he might have commanded on the open market in the ensuing winter.

Unfortunately, that proved to be a last hurrah in an otherwise excellent career. A string of leg injuries limited Prado’s availability and his performance fell off a cliff. In the three campaigns that followed, Prado has been limited to just 616 plate appearances of .241/.276/.313 hitting.

Prado spent most of his time in 2019 at first base; clearly, there aren’t any organizations that would prefer to have that sort of offensive production occupying that position. There’s no question Prado would need to settle for a minor-league deal if he decides to play.

The rough ending doesn’t detract from Prado’s worthwhile time in the majors. He spent half of his 14 years with the Braves before stints with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Marlins. In total, he owns a .287/.335/.412 slash over 5,861 trips to the plate in that span.

Marlins Activate Martin Prado, Place JT Riddle On IL

By Jeff Todd | July 18, 2019 at 8:42am CDT

The Marlins have announced that they have activated veteran infielder Martin Prado from the 10-day injured list. He’ll take the place of utilityman JT Riddle, who’s headed for his own IL stint with a forearm strain.

Prado, 35, is back in action in time to feature as a trade candidate — in theory. Trouble is, his nosedive at the plate has shown no signs of abating over the past three years. And his latest hamstring injury is the latest in a string of leg maladies.

When the Fish inked Prado to a questionable three-year extension late in the 2016 season, he was putting the finishing touches on a solid campaign and was still at least carrying a recent track record of slightly above-average offensive work. Three years and $40MM seemed like a rather heavy commitment, particularly for an organization with the outlook of the Miami club, but he’d have been a reasonably sought-after free agent had he not re-upped with the Marlins.

That deal has turned out to be a complete bust in spite of the best efforts of the respected veteran. Prado has played in only 142 games, slashing a combined .244/.277/.319. While he’s still a solid defender, Prado is a negative on the basepaths and has in the aggregate played at or below replacement level.

Perhaps it’s still possible to squint and imagine a contender taking a flier on Prado as a 25th man who’d contribute in the clubhouse. He has been on a tear on his rehab assignment; if he shows up to the majors looking particularly spry, there’s an outside chance at a trade. Even then, it’s tough to imagine the Marlins shedding any noticeable amount of salary or recouping anything in the way of prospect value in return.

Marlins Expected To Place Martin Prado On IL, Select Yadiel Rivera

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2019 at 11:34am CDT

The Marlins expect Martin Prado to miss some time due to a hamstring injury, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. It’s not clear yet just how serious an injury he’s sustained nor how long he’ll be out, but Frisaro tweets that Miami is expected to bring infielder/outfielder Yadiel Rivera up from Triple-A in Prado’s absence. Rivera isn’t on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a 40-man move in order to formally select his contract.

Prado, 35, is in the final season of a three-year, $40MM extension that has not panned out as the organization had hoped. When he initially signed the extension, Prado was putting the finishing touches on a .305/.359/.417 campaign in which he took the field for 153 of the Marlins’ 162 games. Injuries, however, have not only limited Prado to just 142 total games dating back to the 2017 season — they’ve also dramatically reduced his productivity. He’s made just 519 plate appearances while playing on his current contract and has produced an unsightly .244/.277/.319 batting line in that time.

The 27-year-old Rivera appeared in a career-high 111 games with the Marlins in 2018 but was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner and defensive replacement. He accrued just 160 plate appearances in those 111 contests, batting .173/.269/.216. Rivera, though, is enjoying a strong start in Triple-A New Orleans, where he’s batted .318/.333/.516 in 233 trips to the plate.

East Notes: Mets Front Office, Frazier, Ball, Prado

By Jeff Todd | September 6, 2018 at 12:24am CDT

It seems the Mets have yet to get their much-anticipated front-office search underway in earnest. But there has been a steady steam of information on the process of finding a new top baseball operations. (Of course, there still has been no formal announcement that the club will replace Sandy Alderson, who’s currently on leave for cancer treatment, though it is widely expected to take place.) Joel Sherman of the New York Post lays out the team’s thinking on the hiring process, suggesting that ownership is still gathering names to consider but hopes to wrap things up in advance of the GM Meetings. Interestingly, current exec Omar Minaya is said not only to be involved in the process, but also a clear factor moving forward. Per Sherman: “it is clear that whoever does get the position is going to inherit Minaya as an executive with — at the very least — significant say in player personnel, and someone who has the ear and trust of ownership.” There are quite a few names being tossed around at the moment. As Sherman notes, that’s largely reflective of the still-early stage of proceedings — and, perhaps, some differences in preferred approaches between Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Meanwhile, Andy Martino of SNY.tv hears that the Mets are open to utilizing different front office structures (or, at least, allocations of titles) to help open the door to additional candidates. Generally, though, he writes that there’s no “particular top candidate in mind” at the moment.

Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier likely won’t be able to return this season after suffering a setback in his efforts to return from a concussion, manager Aaron Boone told reporters including Marc Carig of The Athletic (Twitter link). The timing is poor for Frazier, who turns 24 today. With Aaron Judge still working his way back to health, this might have been a prime chance for Frazier to receive an extended opportunity. He has only appeared in 15 MLB games this year but seems in line for more after producing an excellent .311/.389/.574 slash with ten home runs in his 216 plate appearances at Triple-A.
Red Sox prospect Trey Ball is moving from the mound to the batter’s box, as Greg Levinsky of the Boston Globe notes on Twitter. The Globe’s Alex Speier recently examined the subject, explaining that the 2013 first-rounder was seen as a two-way prospect as a high-school outfielder. With his pitching career fizzling out — he has struggled in consecutive Double-A seasons, despite repeating the level and converting to a relief role — the 24-year-old Ball will now take a second shot at carving out a MLB career.
As we touched upon earlier tonight, the Martin Prado contract has been an exceedingly poor investment for the Marlins. That’s due mostly to the veteran’s injury and performance struggles, though the contract has also simply failed to line up with the team’s competitive timeline. Of course, that’s due in large part to the stunning death of former star pitcher Jose Fernandez, which occurred not long before the Prado deal was announced and drastically changed the organization’s outlook. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets, in fact, that the club considered halting negotiations with Prado, which had advanced to the point that terms were “in place” (but the contract un-signed) when Fernandez suddenly and tragically passed away. Instead, writes Spencer, the Marlins decided to go through with the deal that they had negotiated.

Marlins Designate JB Shuck, Activate Martin Prado

By Jeff Todd | July 5, 2018 at 1:59pm CDT

2:01pm: Miami will actually activate Martin Prado at this time, per an announcement. The club also added righty Ben Meyer and placed fellow right-hander Tayron Guerrero on the 10-day DL. Presumably, Cooper will be brought back in short order.

Prado struggled badly to open the season and has dealt with significant injuries of late, so it’s hard to imagine him as a mid-season trade candidate. Still, he could conceivably turn into an August target if he performs well. The Miami organization would surely like to get out from under some of his hefty salary ($13.5MM this year and $15MM next), though most of it will surely remain on their books regardless.

12:27pm: The Marlins are set to designate outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, according to Craig Mish of Sirius XM (Twitter link). His roster spot will go to Garrett Cooper, who’ll be activated from the disabled list.

Shuck, 31, has struggled at the plate in his action this year in Miami. Through 142 plate appearances, he carries only a .192/.255/.231 batting line. He has hit a bit more in past seasons, but in the aggregate is only a 72 OPS+ hitter in 1,232 trips to the plate in the majors.

As for Cooper, 27, he’s finally ready to return after suffering a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch early this season. The Marlins had picked him up from the Yankees over the winter in hopes that he’d make good on the promise he showed in the 2017 season. Cooper ended up posting a .359/.423/.634 slash in 350 total plate appearances in the upper minors last year and also hit well in his first, brief stint in the big leagues.

Injury Notes: Gomez, Sanchez, Marte, Bird, Prado

By Kyle Downing | May 26, 2018 at 11:35am CDT

Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez has been activated from the 10-day disabled list; he’d been sidelined since May 16th with a strained groin. The injury was thought to be minor at the time, and the fact that Gomez missed only the ten-day minimum leaves little room to doubt his health at this time. That doesn’t mean his performance comes without questions, though, as the veteran is slashing just .200/.252/.345 on the season. No corresponding move was required for Tampa Bay, as their roster was two men short following yesterday’s surprising trade with Seattle.

And now a flurry of other injury-related items from around the league…

David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that Anibal Sanchez could be the Braves’ starter on Tuesday following a successful rehab start on Friday. Mark Bowman of MLB.com takes it a step further by quoting manager Brian Snitker, who reportedly said that Sanchez is indeed penciled in to start Tuesday’s game. Sanchez has a 1.29 ERA in three appearances (two starts) on the season.
Adam Berry of MLB.com writes that Starling Marte will be activated from the DL by the Pirates today if he reports to the ballpark feeling ready to play. It’d be a remarkably quick return for the 29-year-old outfielder, who has been sidelined with an oblique injury. Injuries of that type have a reputation for lingering and causing players to miss extended time. One has to wonder what Marte’s potential activation would mean for the red-hot Austin Meadows, who’s managed more homers in the big leagues thus far (3) than strikeouts (2).
The Yankees have reinstated first baseman Greg Bird from the disabled list, optioning infielder Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Marc Carig of The Athletic notes that the move makes plenty of sense considering the versatility of Gleyber Torres and the fact that a removal of Neil Walker from the roster isn’t reversible. Bird entered the season with plenty of hype surrounding him, but has yet to make his 2018 debut thanks to right foot surgery.
In a move that was widely expected, the Marlins placed Martin Prado (hamstring) on the 10-day DL today, recalling J.T. Riddle from Triple-A to take his place on the roster. It’s the latest in an unfortunate series of injuries for the formerly-durable Prado, who made only 147 trips to the plate last year following eight straight seasons with at least 500 PA.

Injury Notes: Prado, Murphy/Goodwin, DeJong, Casilla, Trumbo, More

By Jeff Todd | May 26, 2018 at 12:08am CDT

It seems that Marlins infielder Martin Prado has suffered a rather significant left hamstring injury, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. The 34-year-old has endured a run of significant problems with his hamstring muscles in the past year or so. Details aren’t yet known, but it certainly sounds as if Prado will be sidelined for a lengthy stretch. He’s owed $13.5MM this year and $15MM for the 2019 campaign. The long-productive infielder has struggled to a .169/.221/.180 batting line in 95 plate appearances on the season.

Here’s more on the injury front:

The Nationals finally got some promising injury news, as they’ll send both Daniel Murphy and Brian Goodwin on rehab assignments beginning tomorrow. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted the news with regard to the former; Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweeted manager Davey Martinez’s announcement on both players. Murphy has yet to appear in the 2018 campaign after offseason microfracture surgery, while Goodwin has been slow to return from a wrist injury.
It’s still unclear just how long the Cardinals will go without shortstop Paul DeJong, but he says he has been given a four-to-eight week estimate by the medical professionals, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. More than anything, it seems that broad range indicates that there’s not a lot of clarity at this point as to how long it’ll take to heal. All involved will obviously hope that it hues toward the earlier estimate, as the replacement options all have their warts as semi-regular shortstops.
It seems the Athletics will go without reliever Santiago Casilla for a stretch. He has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports (Twitter links). Details of his anticipated absence are not yet available, but it’s said to be likely that Casilla will end up on the DL. At the same time, he says he does not believe it’s a serious malady. The veteran entered play today with an ugly 14:13 K/BB ratio, but had allowed eight runs on only 11 hits in his 21 innings of action.
Though he seemingly avoided a more concerning fate, Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo will likely head to the DL to rest his ailing right knee, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report (Twitter links). Trumbo was diagnosed with a fairly significant case of arthritis, which won’t necessarily put him on the shelf for long but also probably isn’t the best news for a defensively limited player who’s owed $12.5MM this year and $13.5MM next. He has been productive thus far in 2018, though, with a .309/.317/.469 slash through 82 plate appearances. On the other hand, it’s somewhat worrisome that he has managed only a pair of home runs and a single walk in that span.
In other AL East news … so long as there are no surprises in the interim, Nate Eovaldi will finally start for the Rays on Tuesday, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The Yankees announced that reliever Tommy Kahnle is back from the DL, which represents a promising development given the uncertainty that surrounded him when he went on the shelf. And while the Blue Jays still aren’t planning on a near-term return from Troy Tulowitzki, skipper John Gibbons says the veteran shortstop is at least ready to begin running, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets.
While the Padres had hoped to welcome back catcher Austin Hedges in relatively short order, he’s now halting his rehab after his problematic right elbow flared up, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. It still seems there’s little reason to fear that Hedges is dealing with a real structural problem, though surely it’s frustrating for the organization that he hasn’t yet fully turned the corner.
Meanwhile, the Angels provided an update on hurler Matt Shoemaker, though it mostly suggests ongoing uncertainty with regard to the root of his arm issues. As the club announced, and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado tweets, the latest examination “ruled out peripheral nerve involvement” but “showed mild edema in the forearm.” Shoemaker is also said to have undergone a bone scan. The results of that weren’t specifically cited, but it seems to suggest that the organization is looking at quite a lot of possibilities to figure out what’s really causing problems for the starter.

Marlins Activate Martin Prado, Option Trevor Richards

By Jeff Todd | April 27, 2018 at 2:36pm CDT

The Marlins have activated third bagger Martin Prado from the DL, per a club announcement. To make way for the veteran, the club optioned intriguing young righty Trevor Richards.

Prado had been hoping to be ready for the Opening Day roster after undergoing season-ending knee surgery in 2017. But he suffered a setback in camp and evidently also had to battle through a hamstring strain. Issues in both of those areas limited him to just 37 games last year.

Hopefully the leg troubles are in the past for Prado, who had played in at least 128 games annually since establishing himself as a regular in 2009. He also had been a steadily above-average offensive producer over his career until the 2017 campaign, when he limped to a .250/.279/.357 slash in 147 plate appearances.

If Prado can reestablish himself over the next several months, he could turn back into a potential trade piece for the rebuilding Marlins. He’s owed a hefty $13.5MM this year and $15MM in 2019 under the extension he signed late in the 2016 season, though, so in all likelihood any deal would mostly convey some cost savings.

The third-base role that Prado left open had been filled well by Brian Anderson early in 2018. The 24-year-old, one of Miami’s most highly regarded prospects, has posted an impressive .385 on-base percentage through his first 104 plate appearances. Of course, he’s also sporting a decidedly less-promising .349 slugging percentage, though he has demonstrated more power than that in the minors (22 homers between Double-A and Triple-A last season).

Rather than dropping Anderson back to Triple-A, the plan is to use him elsewhere, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. The Marlins are preparing Anderson to see time in the outfield and at first base so that they can keep him in the lineup. He’ll also spell Prado at the hot corner.

Richards, meanwhile, will head back to New Orleans — where he has actually never played. The indy ball find did burn through every other affiliate he was placed at over the past two seasons, compiling a 2.52 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 200 1/3 cumulative minor-league frames (including 146 innings last year at the High-A and Double-A levels)

It’s unremarkable, on the one hand, to see a young starter with a 4.94 ERA and 9.1 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 headed out on optional assignment. But Richards is fresh off of a ten-strikeout gem in which he got the better of the legendary Clayton Kershaw. For a Marlins club that isn’t exactly overloaded with quality MLB pitching — see their depth chart here — it’s a somewhat debatable decision, particularly with Dillon Peters still evidently holding a rotation spot. It’s worth noting that the move will allow the Marlins to keep Richards from achieving a full year of MLB service, if they hold him down long enough.

East Notes: Sox, Ohtani, G. Torres, Hellickson, Realmuto, Mets

By Connor Byrne | April 15, 2018 at 2:33pm CDT

Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani will start against the Red Sox on Tuesday. If the Sox had their druthers, though, it would be the other way around, per Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Boston, like just about every other major league team, courted Ohtani during his brief foray into free agency over the winter. The club showed Ohtani a 25-minute video presentation that prominently featured former Red Sox starter/slugger Babe Ruth, the most successful two-way player of all-time, as a recruiting tool. Ohtani is aiming to make a Ruthian impact as both a pitcher and a hitter in the majors, and so far he’s thriving on both ends. The Red Sox would have given Ohtani the opportunity to capitalize on his unique talents, as Silverman details, though he eliminated them (and most other clubs) from the process pretty quickly. “I wish we were in a position where we could have tackled that challenge,” said president Dave Dombrowski. “We liked him a great deal, we thought very highly of him. I thought he was a legitimate two-way player.” Silverman’s piece, which contains more quotes from Dombrowski and senior vice president of personnel Allard Baird (who scouted Ohtani extensively from 2012-17), is worth checking out in full.

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