Cameron Maybin

Cubs Asked Tigers About Cameron Maybin

By Mark Polishuk | August 29, 2020 at 7:57am CDT

Cameron Maybin’s name has emerged as part of trade discussions between the Tigers and Cubs, the Athletic’s Eno Sarris and Brittany Ghiroli report (subscription required). Maybin would be a pure rental piece, as the outfielder is only signed through the 2020 season and is owed roughly $280K for the remaining month of action.

Now a veteran of 14 MLB seasons with eight different teams, Maybin signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Tigers last winter in the wake of one of his most productive years at the plate. Maybin his .285/.364/.494 with a career-best 11 home runs over 269 plate appearances with the Yankees in 2019, becoming one of several unheralded bench players to step up big for the injury-riddled Bronx Bombers roster.

Thus far in 2020, Maybin has hit .256/.310/.436 over just 42 PA, as he missed two weeks of action due to a quad injury. Albeit in a very small sample size, Statcast metrics such as hard-hit percentage and barrels indicate that Maybin is continuing the improved solid contract he played last year in New York. Detroit has used Maybin only as a right fielder this season, and while he can still play center in a pinch, the 33-year-old is probably best suited for corner outfield duty at this point in his career.

This might be all the Cubs would be looking for in a depth piece, as Chicago’s outfield corps has been thinned by injuries to Steven Souza Jr. and part-time outfielder Kris Bryant. In theory, Maybin’s right-handed bat would provide cover against left-handed pitching (particularly since the left-handed hitting Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber have both struggled against southpaws), but Maybin has been something of a reverse-splits hitter for much of his career.

Quick Hits: Mets, E. Rodriguez, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | July 30, 2020 at 11:52pm CDT

The Mets are off to a slow start at 3-4, and high-profile reliever Edwin Diaz hasn’t helped matters. Diaz, whom the Mets hoped would rebound this year after a subpar first season with the team in 2019, has allowed an earned run in two of three appearances this year. He struggled Thursday in a loss to the Red Sox, allowing four of five hitters to reach base. Afterward, manager Luis Rojas told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters that Mets bigwigs will discuss whether to use Diaz in high-leverage situations going forward. Considering Diaz has only thrown 2 1/3 innings this season, it’s far too soon to say he won’t bounce back. Nevertheless, it’s stunning to see how far he has fallen off since a tremendous run with the Mariners from 2016-18. The Mets’ decision to trade for Diaz and second baseman Robinson Cano continues to look worse and worse.

Infielder Jed Lowrie joined the Mets in the same offseason as Diaz and Cano, but he has barely played for the club. Now in the second season of a two-year, $20MM contract, various injuries have limited Lowrie to nine games and eight plate appearances as a Met. He hasn’t played yet this season, and the reason became somewhat more clear Thursday. It turns out that Lowrie is dealing with PCL laxity in his left knee, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. It’s still unknown if Lowrie will play for the Mets this season, however.
Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been out this season because of coronavirus complications, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told Greg Hill of WEEI on Thursday (h/t: Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com) that they believe he will pitch this year. “We do expect to get him back,” Bloom said. “I couldn’t tell you exactly when. Obviously, we’re fortunate in that the complication that he had was very mild in terms of the severity of it.” Rodriguez went on the injured list July 7 after testing positive for the virus and has been dealing with a heart issue related to the illness lately. If healthy, he’ll unquestionably be the No. 1 starter in a Boston staff that’s rife with problems.
The Tigers are placing oufielder Cameron Maybin on the injured list because of a strained quad, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com relays. Maybin suffered the injury Thursday, just the sixth game since the once-touted Tigers prospect returned to Detroit for a third stint. The club signed Maybin to a one-year, $1.5MM deal in free agency.

AL Central Notes: Abreu, Maybin, Zimmer

By Mark Polishuk | February 16, 2020 at 9:59pm CDT

Heading into free agency last fall, Jose Abreu made no secret that he wanted to remain with the White Sox, and he told reporters (including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that he didn’t even talk to any other clubs during his brief time on the open market. “My family is good in Chicago. They love Chicago,” Abreu said. “They are really grateful and good and happy with the White Sox organization, just the way that the organization has treated them….For us, it didn’t make sense to look around to other places.” The Marlins were the only other team known to have have interest in Abreu last November, though it appears that interest didn’t manifest itself into any early negotiation with Abreu’s representatives.

There never seemed much chance that Abreu and the White Sox would part ways, given how GM Rick Hahn repeatedly spoke during the season about how much the team valued Abreu’s contributions on the field and in the Sox clubhouse. After Chicago extended a one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer to Abreu, the first baseman ensured his continued stay on the South Side by accepting the offer, and then worked out a contract extension in November that runs through the 2022 season.

The latest from around the AL Central….

While Abreu more or less sidestepped free agency entirely, the market wasn’t as kind to Cameron Maybin, who told the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters that he received mostly minor league offers before finally landing a Major League deal from the Tigers. Maybin rebounded from a pair of subpar years to hit .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs over 269 PA with the Yankees last season, but still found the process of obtaining a guaranteed contract to be “frustrating….I thought it would be easier to get a big-league job. I do feel like I’m a big-league talent, like I am big-league caliber.” Still, Maybin is happy to be back in Detroit for his third stint as a Tiger, and is eager to serve as a veteran mentor to a young team and prove that his 2019 performance wasn’t a fluke. Though Maybin turns 33 in April, “honestly, with my athleticism, I feel like I can play for another five years. Especially with this swing change.”
Kyle Zimmer was given a fourth minor league option by the league, the Royals right-hander told MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Players usually only have three option years, though a fourth option can sometimes be granted under certain circumstances — like, in Zimmer’s case, a wide range of injuries that have limited to just 341 total professional innings since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 draft. Zimmer was finally healthy in 2019 and made his MLB debut, making 15 relief appearances for Kansas City and posting a 10.80 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. With this fourth option year to work with, the Royals can now opt to start Zimmer in the minors to begin the season rather than potentially be forced into exposing him to waivers as an out-of-options player if they didn’t have a 26-man roster spot for him.

Tigers Don’t Expect Further Additions

By Connor Byrne | February 14, 2020 at 12:58am CDT

The Tigers have added a few modestly priced veteran free agents to a team that lost 114 games and easily finished last in the majors a season ago. At this point, Detroit’s not expecting any more acquisitions before the season, general manager Al Avila suggested Thursday (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic).

“I would say so,” Avila said when asked if Detroit’s Wednesday signing of outfielder Cameron Maybin would be its last notable pickup.

The Tigers have looked like speculative fits for outfielder Yasiel Puig, who’s still without a job, but it officially appears he’ll have to look elsewhere. Avila already shot down a potential Puig signing weeks ago. Now, between the reunion with the ex-Tiger Maybin and Avila’s comments, they can probably be scratched off Puig’s list of possible employers. They’re instead counting on Maybin, whom they reeled in for $1.5MM, to enjoy a second straight successful campaign and perhaps take on an everyday role, as Stavenhagen writes (subscription link).

The 32-year-old Maybin has bounced around since the Tigers took him 10th overall in the 2005 draft, enduring his share of ups and downs along the way. He had to settle for minor league deals with the Giants and Indians before last season, but an April trade to the Yankees may have revived his career. Maybin was an unsung hero on an injury-riddled New York club, as a more fly ball-oriented approach helped him to a .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs in 269 plate appearances.

Maybin became the fifth veteran to join the Tigers on a one-year contract since last season ended. The club previously signed first baseman C.J. Cron, second baseman Jonathan Schoop, catcher Austin Romine and right-hander Ivan Nova. There may not be a world-beater in the bunch, but those stopgaps should at least make Detroit more competitive this season. And the team does have a few talented starters (some of whom aren’t yet in the majors but could be soon) who could combine to give the club a decent rotation. Matt Boyd, Spencer Turnbull and Daniel Norris are on hand at the MLB level; Michael Fulmer should make it back from Tommy John surgery in the summer; Nova’s an acceptable back-end innings-eater; and Casey Mize and Matt Manning are two of the top prospects in the game. With all of that said, the Tigers should be a tougher out in 2020.

Tigers Sign Cameron Maybin

By Jeff Todd | February 12, 2020 at 1:11pm CDT

1:11pm: The Tigers have announced the deal. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, righty Michael Fulmer was placed on the 60-day injured list. It was reported a couple months back that Fulmer, the former AL Rookie of the Year, was expected to be out until July, so the 60-day IL placement shouldn’t come as a surprise.

12:51pm: There is a deal in place with a $1.5MM salary, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter links). He can tack on another $1.3MM via incentives, Heyman tweets.

10:37am: The Tigers are nearing an agreement with veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Prospective contract terms aren’t yet known.

This’ll be Maybin’s third stint with the Detroit organization, which selected him in the first round of the 2005 draft. He broke into the majors with the club in 2007 before being dealt to the Marlins as part of the Miguel Cabrera deal. Maybin returned for a productive single-season run in 2016.

There have been ups and downs over the years, but Maybin makes his way back to the Motor City on the upswing. He was waiting and hoping with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate last April when the injury-plagued Yankees came calling. Maybin ended up posting his best-ever season with the bat, slashing a hefty .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs.

Maybin isn’t especially likely to repeat quite that output; he turned in consecutive 86 OPS+ finishes in the prior two seasons and rarely produced at better than the league-average rate. But he did shows some real changes in his batted-ball profile to support the improvement. Maybin’s barrel percentage vaulted to 10.2% from a prior high of 4.1%; he increased his launch angle to 11.1 degrees from a previous peak of 7.5. He also posted a career-best 88.8 mph average exit velocity and personal-high 16.9% HR/FB rate.

Even if there’s a step back offensively, Maybin figures to be a solid piece. He’s still fleet of foot, even if he won’t steal bases like he did in his youth, and capable of playing all three outfield positions. The Tigers certainly had a need for sturdy performers in an outfield unit that is filled with uncertainty. There’s also a good shot that Maybin will turn into a mid-season trade chip.

Cameron Maybin Switches Representation

By Mark Polishuk | January 30, 2020 at 5:26pm CDT

Free agent outfielder Cameron Maybin has hired a new agent in Gene Mato of Mato Sports Management, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).

Maybin is in his third straight winter of an extended trip through free agency. It took the veteran until past mid-February in each of the last two offseasons to land contracts — a MLB contract with the Marlins in February 2018, and then a minors pact with the Giants in February 2019. That latter deal gave way to another minor league deal with the Indians after San Francisco released Maybin near the end of Spring Training, and Cleveland then traded Maybin to the Yankees in April.

After all that movement last spring, Maybin rather surprisingly emerged with one of the best seasons of his 13-year career. Maybin hit .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs over 269 plate appearances for New York, becoming one of many unheralded roster additions who made big contributions to an injury-plagued Yankees team. There was a bit of good luck involved in Maybin’s performance (a .365 BABIP, and a .363 wOBA that was decently higher than his .337 xwOBA), though Maybin posted a career-best 37.7% hard-hit ball rate and an 11.2% walk rate that nearly matched his 11.3% career high from 2017.

That strong season hasn’t resulted in much free agent buzz, however, as the Pirates (whose interest was only reported earlier today) have been the only team linked to Maybin this offseason. Maybin turns 33 in April, and given how he didn’t produce much in 2017 or 2018, clubs could be waiting until deeper into Spring Training to consider Maybin, possibly in the event of an injury or a trade that creates a roster need. Indeed, Pittsburgh may have only entered the picture in the wake of Starling Marte being dealt to the Diamondbacks.

Maybin expressed interest in returning to the Yankees in 2020, and the possibility exists that the Bronx Bombers could choose to augment their outfield depth with a familiar face, especially since Aaron Hicks will miss at least the first three months of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Aaron Judge, Mike Tauchman, and the re-signed Brett Gardner represent New York’s starting outfield, with Giancarlo Stanton (who will mostly see DH duty), Clint Frazier, utilityman Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar (who will be tried out in left field), and minor leaguers Rosell Herrera and Zack Granite representing further outfield options.

Alvarez’s change in representation is reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent info on thousands of Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within our listing, please let us know by e-mailing mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Pirates Considering Various Center Field Additions

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2020 at 10:47am CDT

The Pirates, who earlier this week traded center fielder Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks, are “considering” several free-agent replacement options, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Among them are Kevin Pillar, Billy Hamilton and Cameron Maybin.

That the Bucs are in the market for a new center fielder isn’t a surprise. General manager Ben Cherington revealed hours after the Marte swap that he’d likely be in the market for a new center fielder. Pittsburgh’s trade of Marte was more about selling a valuable asset at peak value (and, of course, paring back payroll) than opening playing time for in-house options. Bryan Reynolds could conceivably handle center-field duties in the short term, but it seems as though the organization’s preference is to leave him installed in left field, with a hopefully healthier Gregory Polanco patrolling right field at PNC Park.

Of the listed options, only Pillar played a full season as a regular in 2019. Traded from Toronto to San Francisco in what amounted to an early-season salary dump, the 31-year-old displayed above-average pop and baserunning abilities while also reminding of his typical struggles to get on base. Pillar swatted a career-high 21 homers, posted a .174 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average) and swiped 14 bases this past season.

However, Pillar also only walked in 2.8 percent of his plate appearances and recorded a .287 on-base percentage, which was the fourth-lowest among qualified MLB hitters. Defensive metrics continued to suggest that his once-elite glove has taken a step back (-3 Defensive Runs Saved; 0.3 Ultimate Zone Rating; +2 Outs Above Average). As Heyman points out, Cherington is plenty familiar with Pillar after spending more than three years in the Jays’ front office.

The fleet-footed Hamilton, meanwhile, again rated as an elite defender and baserunner. He’s still just 29 years of age, but at this point the ship on him ever being a passable hitter has likely sailed. Hamilton’s .218/.289/.275 slash through 353 plate appearances last season was the worst in MLB among players with at least 350 plate appearances. He’s still nearly unrivaled in terms of raw speed and defensive ability, however, making him a serviceable stopgap if the Bucs simply want to keep a seat warm for someone like 2018 first-rounder Travis Swaggerty.

Maybin, 33 in April, enjoyed a career renaissance in a limited role in 2019, hitting .285/.364/.494 with 11 homers and 17 doubles in 269 trips to the plate. He worked mostly as a corner outfielder, though, and hasn’t tallied more than 450 innings in center field in a single season since his 2016 run with the Tigers.

Cameron Maybin Hopes To Re-Sign With Yankees

By Connor Byrne | October 2, 2019 at 9:08pm CDT

Veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin went through a difficult few months leading up to the 2019 campaign. After Maybin didn’t produce enough with the Marlins or Mariners last year to merit a major league contract, he languished on the free-agent market until the Giants brought him in on a minors pact in late February. A month later, the Giants released Maybin in the wake of a DUI arrest, though he did catch on with the Indians on another non-guaranteed deal in the coming days.

Despite the fact that the Indians’ outfield was an obvious question mark coming into the season, Maybin wasn’t able to get past the Triple-A level as a member of the organization. As a result, the Indians traded Maybin to the Yankees for cash on April 25 in what appeared would go down as an inconsequential swap.

However, since joining the Yankees, the 32-year-old Maybin has capitalized on a surprisingly large amount of playing time in a Yankees outfield that has dealt with a slew of injuries. The resurgent Maybin’s scheduled to head back to free agency after his 2019 stint with the World Series-contending Yankees concludes, but he prefers to stay where he is, per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

Asked if he’d like to re-sign with the Yankees, Maybin said, “I think that goes without saying.” The well-traveled Maybin added that the Yankees are “by far the best organization” he has played for since he began his pro career as a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2005.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are surely thankful for the way Maybin has stepped up this year. While Maybin didn’t look like much of an offensive threat when he joined the club, the speedster has teed off on opposing pitchers for a .285/.364/.494 line with 11 home runs and nine steals in 269 plate appearances this year. He has been a versatile defender at the same time, having seen at least some action at each outfield position (primarily the corners).

Maybin may be able to parlay this season’s production into a major league deal before next year, but whether the Yankees will be the team to give him his next contract is in question. They’ll likely go into 2020 with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton (whose injury-wrecked regular season helped open the door for Maybin) and Aaron Hicks as their starting outfield. They’ll also continue to have control over Mike Tauchman (who will be out of options), Clint Frazier and the injury-riddled, costly Jacoby Ellsbury. Plus, despite the presences of those six, no one will be surprised if New York re-ups its longest-tenured player, pending free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner. Should that happen, it would only make a Maybin re-signing look less likely than it already does.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Sogard, Yanks, White Sox

By Connor Byrne | July 25, 2019 at 12:30am CDT

As was the case a couple weeks ago, the Dodgers are “quite interested” in multiple Giants relievers, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported July 10 that Will Smith, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Reyes Moronta were on the Dodgers’ radar. At that point, San Francisco owned a 41-48 record and looked as if it was sure to sell prior to the trade deadline. However, the Giants were in the early stages of an out-of-nowhere tear that has continued, putting them at 52-51 and calling into question whether they’ll trade any of their top chips in the next week. Even if they do, there’s no guarantee the Giants will deal with the archrival Dodgers, despite the connection between SF president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and LA president Andrew Friedman. Zaidi was Friedman’s top lieutenant with the Dodgers from 2014-18.

AL Injury Notes: Tigers, Maybin, Lucroy

By Dylan A. Chase | July 13, 2019 at 9:13pm CDT

The Tigers had a bit of a good news/bad news day in regards to some currently injured players. Gargantuan catcher Grayson Greiner has reportedly suffered a setback in his recovery process, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. Sidelined with a lower back injury since June 13th, Greiner experienced a “flare up” in that region during a rehab game with High-A Lakeland. Apparently, subsequent tests have revealed a deeper issue: “They took a scan and saw something,” said Tigers skipper Ron Gardenhire. “Not a break, but a stress area, so they’ve immobilized it.” Greiner has been shut down from all baseball activities for the moment, so catching duties will continue to be split between John Hicks and Bobby Wilson, while a potential call-up of prospect Jake Rogers still looms in the offing.

In more positive Motor City news, Gardenhire revealed in McCosky’s report that second sacker Josh Harrison (hamstring) is nearing a rehab assignment, with the club eyeing a return at the end of July.

More injury check-ins from around the junior circuit…

Well-traveled Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin has already had an eventful season thus far in 2019. After being cut by the Giants in the wake of a mid-spring DUI arrest and subsequently bouncing to the Indians Triple-A affiliate, Maybin was acquired by an injury-stricken Bombers team that was in sore need of outfield reinforcement. Though he provided superlative offensive performance in his first 42 games in pinstripes (138 wRC+), he hasn’t appeared in a game since suffering a calf injury on June 21st. According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, though, Maybin was running and participating in drills at Yankee Stadium today before the team’s game against the Blue Jays. No word has been given on a rehab date or possible return timeline for Maybin, but the club would certainly welcome back another outfield option given the current status of slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Of course, no team has had a more eventful or emotional season thus far than the Angels. The tragic death of Tyler Skaggs–to say nothing of Friday night’s combined no-hitter dedicated to his memory–would seem to overshadow any baseball-related news story in a given season. However, for a moment, last Sunday’s homeplate collision between Jake Marisnick and Jonathan Lucroy was perhaps the most hot-button topic in sports. “The last thing I remember, I was kind of inching my way up the line and reaching for the baseball,” Lucroy said in a report by the Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna. “The first thing I remember after that is when they put me on the golf cart. He knocked me out.” The report goes on to mention that Marisnick–who is appealing a two-game suspension in connection with the collision–texted an apology to Lucroy last week. Lucroy, fortunately, doesn’t expect to be sidelined by his resultant injuries for “too long.”

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