- Starling Marte left today’s game against the Marlins after the first inning due to what the Mets described as a neck strain. Marte suffered the injury while stealing third base in the bottom of the first, as Marte’s slide took him headfirst into the knee of Miami third baseman Jean Segura. He remained in the game for the remainder of the inning, but Jeff McNeil moved from second base to take Marte’s spot in the right field for the top of the second. Manager Buck Showalter expressed optimism regarding Marte, telling reporters (including Laura Albanese of Newsday) “so far so good” as it pertains to Marte having avoided a concussion. Any missed time by Marte seems likely to benefit outfielder Tommy Pham in terms of playing time, though it’s also possible that the club could call up a player like Danny Mendick to take some starts if Marte requires a trip to the injured list.
- The Marlins had a pair of players leave today’s game as well, with Avisail Garcia exiting the game with what was termed “left hamstring soreness”, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson, while J.T. Chargois exited with an apparent injury just three pitches into the seventh inning. Chargois, who the Marlins acquired from the Rays via trade back in November, has been a useful reliever in recent years, recording a 2.36 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 80 innings since the start of the 2021 season. Garcia, on the other hand, is entering the second season of a four-year deal he signed with the Marlins prior to the 2021 season that he has struggled to live up to to this point. Despite entering the contract as a career 104 wRC+ hitter coming off a strong 29-homer season in 2021 where he posted a wRC+ of 116, Garcia has slashed just .216/.259/.310 (62 wRC+) in his first 106 games as a Marlin, with a 28.9% strikeout rate above his career norms and just nine home runs.
Marlins Rumors
Marlins Select Devin Smeltzer, Designate Eli Villalobos
The Marlins selected the contract of left-hander Devin Smeltzer, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson (Twitter link). In corresponding moves, lefty Daniel Castano was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Eli Villalobos was designated for assignment.
Smeltzer signed a minor league deal with the Marlins back in January, and the southpaw will now lock in a $1MM guaranteed salary for making the team’s Major League roster. Once he appears in a game with Miami, it will mark Smeltzer’s fifth season in the big leagues, after spending his first four years with the Twins. With a 3.99 ERA over 140 career innings, Smeltzer’s bottom-line results have been solid, even if advanced metrics haven’t been sold on his low-velocity and low-strikeout repertoire.
The left-hander has only a 16.6% strikeout rate at the MLB level, but he has shown solid control with a 6.4% walk rate. Working as both a starter and a reliever, Smeltzer was a useful swingman for the Twins, and started 12 of his 15 appearances last season. With Johnny Cueto on the 15-day injured list, Braxton Garrett has been filling in as part of Miami’s rotation, so Smeltzer could provide more starting depth.
The Marlins added Villalobos to their 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, protecting the 25-year-old from any teams intrigued by his impressive minor league numbers. Over 61 1/3 innings at Double-A and 17 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2022, Villalobos had a combined 2.86 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone nearly as smoothly for the righty this season, as Villalobos was rocked for an 11.57 ERA in 4 2/3 innings at Triple-A, with two homers allowed and as many walks (seven) as strikeouts. These numbers might dissuade teams from making a waiver claim, but it’s possible a club might still be intrigued by Villalobos’ ability to miss bats.
Marlins Discussed Tyler O'Neill In Offseason Talks With Cardinals
Tyler O’Neill’s name was part of trade talks with the Marlins and other teams this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. Back in January, Rosenthal wrote that St. Louis had shown interest in the Marlins’ pitching, and since Miami was known to be looking for outfield help, it stands to reason that O’Neill was part of those discussions. No trade materialized between the two sides, of course, and it isn’t known if O’Neill was necessarily one of the Marlins’ top targets on the St. Louis roster, or if the Cards were more open to moving O’Neill than any of their outfielders.
Given all of the Cardinals’ outfield depth and the Marlins’ rotation depth, any number of names or potential trades could’ve been floated in negotiations — likewise, any team engaging the Cardinals in outfield-related trade talks might’ve had a few options in mind. While O’Neill was coming off a relative down year in 2022, that doesn’t mean rival clubs wouldn’t have still had trade interest, perhaps hoping to nab the two-time Gold Glover in a buy-low situation.
Marlins Outright Jeff Lindgren
The Marlins have sent right-hander Jeff Lindgren outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The rookie hurler went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Lindgren, a 24th-round draftee in 2019, was just called up for his MLB debut on Monday. The Illinois State product was called upon almost immediately, as he was pressed into long relief after Johnny Cueto left his start due to injury. Lindgren tossed five innings of four-run ball, allowing four hits and walking three without recording a strikeout. He tallied 80 pitches.
Miami subsequently DFA Lindgren to get a fresh arm, Daniel Castano, in the bullpen. It was an unfortunate but not entirely unexpected turn of events for the 26-year-old, as it’s fairly common for pitchers towards the back of the depth chart to lose their roster spot as teams cycle through fresh arms. Now that he’s gone unclaimed on waivers, he’ll head back to Jacksonville and remain in the organization without occupying a 40-man spot. Lindgren has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to elect free agency.
Lindgren worked as rotation depth in the minors last season. He started 27 games between Double-A Pensacola and Jacksonville, working to a 4.21 ERA in 136 2/3 cumulative innings. He’d yet to make a minor league appearance this season before being promoted.
NL Notes: Alvarez, Chisholm, Sánchez
Mets catching prospect Francisco Álvarez is joining the club in case fellow backstop Omar Narváez has to go on the injured list, per a report from Mike Puma and Ted Holmlund of The New York Post. The latter was removed from yesterday’s game with calf tightness and replaced by Tomás Nido. The Mets will have an extra day to let Narváez rest and assess the situation since their home opener was postponed until tomorrow due to inclement weather, though Andy Martino of SNY adds that the club is not optimistic about Narváez avoiding the IL.
Álvarez, 21, is one of the top prospects in the sport and is generally considered to be ready for the majors when it comes to his offense. He hit 27 home runs in the minors last year and also walked in 14.1% of his plate appearances, leading to a .260/.374/.511 and 136 wRC+. He also got promoted to the big leagues late in the year, getting into five regular season games and one postseason contest. He’s currently ranked among the top 10 prospects in the league by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and just outside the top 10 at FanGraphs.
However, he’s still quite young and his glove is considered to be a bit behind his bat. He also struggled a bit in spring on the heels of October ankle surgery. All those factors led the club to option him to Triple-A to start the season, relying on the more established players in Narváez and Nido. If the tightness in Narváez’s calf doesn’t clear up and he needs a spell on the injured list, Álvarez might get another crack at the big leagues sooner than expected.
Some more notes from the National League…
- The Marlins got a bit of a scare yesterday when outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. departed their game against the Twins with an apparent injury. While sliding into second base on an attempted steal, his shoulder collided with the leg of Kyle Farmer. Chisholm was in obvious pain and left the contest after a visit from the trainer. The club later announced Chisholm’s injury as a stinger and listed him as day-to-day, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. A “stinger” is a burning or stinging sensation of the nerves in the neck and shoulder area. Though the initial situation may have caused some hearts to skip a few beats, it seems he’s avoided a significant injury, which is great news for the club. Chisholm had a huge breakout last year, hitting .254/.325/.535 for a wRC+ of 139, though he was limited to 60 games by a stress fracture in his back. He’s now attempting to make the challenging transition from second base to center field this year, an experiment that might be put on hold for a few days. Bryan De La Cruz replaced Chisholm in center yesterday and could get more time there, though Jesús Sánchez and Garrett Hampson could also be options.
- The Giants recently brought Gary Sánchez aboard on a minor league deal to bolster their catching depth and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi spoke to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about the move this week. “We’re excited to see how he does,” Zaidi said. “At his best, he’s been one of the handful of best offensive catchers in baseball. If he can show signs of that kind of feeling, I think he can really be an impactful addition.” Sánchez hit .284/.354/.568 in 2016 and 2017 for a wRC+ of 143 but has fallen off from those heights in subsequent years. Since the signing, Joey Bart went on the injured list due to back tightness but isn’t expected to be gone long. In the meantime, Roberto Pérez and Blake Sabol are handling the catching duties, though Sabol is also playing some outfield and Zaidi admits that Pérez is “not an everyday player at this stage of his career, and we have to make sure that whoever we have complementing him can carry a pretty big workload as well.” The club will have to make a decision on Sánchez fairly soon, as he has a May 1 opt-out on his contract, which would come with a $4MM salary if added to the big league club. “We have a few weeks before we have to make a decision. It’s all about: Does he have the chance to bring it all together?” Zaidi said. “And if he does, it’d be pretty good.”
MLBTR Podcast: Could The Marlins Trade A Starter For A Position Player?
- Could the Marlins match up with the Yankees on a trade involving Oswald Peraza? And which of Miami’s pitchers could be in play at the deadline? (16:56)
[SOURCE LINK]
Marlins To Place Johnny Cueto, Joey Wendle On IL
The Marlins have made a batch of roster moves, per their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Left-hander Braxton Garrett and infielder Garrett Hampson were recalled from the minors, while left-hander Daniel Castano had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, right-hander Johnny Cueto was placed on the 15-day injured list with right biceps tightness, infielder Joey Wendle was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right intercostal strain and right-hander Jeff Lindgren was designated for assignment. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reported some of these moves earlier today (Twitter links).
Cueto, 37, signed a one-year, $8.5MM deal with the Marlins this offseason, with that deal containing a club option for 2024. The veteran had a strong bounceback in 2022 after struggling with injuries and underperformance in the preceding seasons. With the White Sox last year, he tossed 158 1/3 innings with a 3.35 ERA. He struck out just 15.7% of batters he faced but limited walks to a tiny 5.1% rate. He made his debut with the Marlins last night but departed after throwing just 30 pitches, having already allowed four runs while recording only three outs.
It’s unclear how long the club expects Cueto to be out of action but this IL placement indicates it will be at least a couple of weeks. In his absence, they should still have a strong front four of Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Edward Cabrera. Garrett opened in the season in a long relief role but was optioned just yesterday. He’d normally have to wait 15 days before rejoining the team but an exception is made when someone is placed on the injured list. He will likely jump into the back of the rotation after posting a 3.58 ERA in 17 starts last year.
Lindgren, 26, was only just added to the roster yesterday. When Cueto departed with his injury, Lindgren stepped in and tossed five innings of emergency long relief, allowing four earned runs, four walks and three hits without recording a strikeout. The Fish will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He tossed 136 2/3 innings in the minors last year with a 4.21 ERA, 20% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate.
Since Lindgren tossed 80 pitches last night, he likely wouldn’t have been available for a few days. In his stead, Castano will likely take over the long man gig. The left-hander has thrown 85 2/3 innings for the Marlins over the previous three seasons, posting a 3.89 ERA despite a 12% strikeout rate. He’s kept his walks down to a 7.5% clip and gotten grounders on 44.5% of balls in play. He was designated for assignment in January when Cueto’s signing became official but cleared waivers and stuck with the organization, now getting his roster spot back. He tossed six innings in a Triple-A start on Friday and should be able to eat some innings if needed.
Wendle, 33 later this month, was bumped up to the club’s top shortstop option with this offseason’s trade of Miguel Rojas to the Dodgers. Wendle sat out last night’s game due to oblique soreness, which has now been diagnosed as a strain. It’s not known how long he is expected to be out but even mild oblique/intercostal strains can lead to weeks-long absences.
With Wendle on the shelf, the Fish will likely turn to Jon Berti and Hampson to cover the shortstop position. The latter had spent his entire career with the Rockies until he was non-tendered at the end of last season. The Marlins signed him to a minor league deal and then selected him to the 40-man in mid-March to prevent him from triggering an opt-out. Hampson has never hit much, posting a career batting line of .235/.296/.370 despite playing half his games at Coors Field. But he does have 52 stolen bases in 419 career games and the ability to play all over the field. He’s played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as some time in center and left.
Marlins Select Jeff Lindgren
The Marlins announced a few roster moves to reporters today, including Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base. Right-hander Jeff Lindgren has been selected to the club’s roster. Left-hander Braxton Garrett was optioned to open a spot on the active roster while right-hander Nic Enright was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Lindgren on the 40-man.
Lindgren, 26, was selected by the Fish in the 24th round of the 2019 draft. He made some appearances in the lower levels of the farm system that year, but then the minor leagues were canceled in 2020. In 2021, he tossed 106 Double-A innings with a 3.82 ERA. He split last year between Double-A and Triple-A, tossing 136 2/3 innings over 27 starts. He had a 4.21 ERA in that time, striking out 20% of batters faced while walking 9.1%. This is his first selection to a roster and he’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Garrett is likely considered the club’s #6 starter, behind a top five of Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers. He opened the season as the long man in the bullpen and tossed three innings on Saturday. It’s possible the club would rather him be making starts in Triple-A so that he’s ready to jump back into the rotation whenever a need arises, with Lindgren taking over the long relief job.
Enright, 26, was selected from the Guardians in the Rule 5 draft. In February, he revealed that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in December and has been undergoing treatment. The club hasn’t provided any updates on that situation, but his transfer to the 60-day IL means he will be ineligible to return until late May.
Marlins Select Yuli Gurriel; Jose Iglesias To Remain In Organization
March 30: The Marlins officially selected Gurriel’s contract today, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. To open a spot for him on the 40-man, right-hander Max Meyer was placed on the 60-day injured list. Meyer underwent Tommy John surgery late last year and will miss most of the upcoming campaign.
March 26: The Marlins will select the contract of first baseman Yuli Gurriel, GM Kim Ng said today during the team radio broadcast (hat tip to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Both Gurriel and Jose Iglesias recently signed minor league deals with the Fish, and both had the ability to exercise opt-out clauses in those contracts yesterday if Miami didn’t place them on the Opening Day roster. Ng said that Iglesias won’t break camp with the team, but the veteran infielder has chosen to pass on his opt-out in order to remain in the minors.
Signs were pointing towards the Marlins’ decision yesterday, since the club was leaning towards utilityman Jon Berti as the right-handed complement to Joey Wendle at the shortstop position, rather than Iglesias. Jordan Groshans, Jacob Amaya, and Garrett Hampson also provided further shortstop depth at Triple-A, making Iglesias less of a true need as Wendle’s timeshare partner. By contrast, the Marlins have a lot less depth at first base, giving Gurriel an opportunity to join with Garrett Cooper as Miami’s top two options at the position. Cooper can also play in the corner outfield, and naturally either player could serve as the DH whenever Jorge Soler is in the outfield.
The financial terms of Gurriel’s minor league deal weren’t reported, but he’ll lock in a guaranteed salary whenever Miami officially selects his contract prior to Opening Day. Gurriel and the Marlins were linked on the rumor mill for quite some time before he actually put pen to paper, with the result being a minors contract after the Fish reportedly took a one-year deal in the $2MM off the table earlier in the offseason.
From Iglesias’ perspective, his decision to decline the opt-out clause makes sense. Iglesias only just signed with the Marlins a little over two weeks ago, and he apparently preferred the opportunity to ramp up in the minor leagues over another trip into the free agent market. Iglesias also has two more opt-out dates built into his contract, as he can again decide on his future on May 1 and June 1 if Miami hasn’t already added him to its 26-man roster.
Miami still has to place Max Meyer (Tommy John surgery recovery) onto the 60-day injured list, which will create space for Gurriel on the 40-man roster. As for 26-man roster space, the Marlins have two spots to work with, since left-hander Steven Okert and right-hander Tommy Nance are both going to start the year on the 15-day injured list. Manager Skip Schumaker told McPherson and other reporters that Okert will miss a couple of weeks as the southpaw recovers from a left adductor issue, while Nance faces a longer recovery period from a bout of shoulder stiffness. Nance isn’t expected to start throwing until closer to the middle of April.
Offseason Review Chat Transcript: Miami Marlins
In conjunction with the Marlins offseason in review post, we held the Marlins-related live chat tonight. Click here to read the transcript.
