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Eddy Alvarez

Dodgers Select Eddy Alvarez, Transfer Kevin Pillar To 60-Day IL

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7:58 pm: The Dodgers have announced that Alvarez has had his contract selected, with Kevin Pillar being transferred to the 60-day IL in order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. The Pillar move isn’t terribly shocking, as he was placed on the 10-day IL just yesterday due to a fractured left shoulder, with a months-long absence seeming like a possibility.

6:48 pm: The Dodgers are planning to select utilityman Eddy Alvarez onto the big league roster, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). Corner infielder Edwin Ríos is headed to the injured list after tearing his right hamstring during last night’s game.

Alvarez is going to the majors for the first time this season. He appeared in 36 games with the Marlins from 2020-21, hitting .188/.287/.287 through 115 plate appearances. That’s obviously not a great showing, but the right-handed hitter had a much more impressive .288/.423/.441 line in 31 games with the Fish’s Triple-A affiliate. Alvarez took some time off to suit up with the US national baseball team at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics. He was part of the Silver Medal-winning club, adding to a silver he’d won in 2014 at Sochi as a speed skater.

Los Angeles inked the 32-year-old to a minor league contract during the lockout. Alvarez has played the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City and mashed to the tune of a .304/.430/.500 clip. He’s walked in an excellent 13.4% of his plate appearances and hit five home runs while splitting time between both middle infield spots.

Ríos is hitting .244/.293/.500 through 92 plate appearances. He’s overcome a 38:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio by making a massive power impact, blasting seven home runs as a part-time player. Roberts indicated the tear won’t require surgical repair, but the left-handed hitter will miss some time recovering. It’ll be the second consecutive season with a notable injury for Ríos, who underwent shoulder surgery in May 2021 that ended his campaign 25 games in.

Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar Will Open Season In Triple-A With Dodgers

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The Dodgers reassigned several non-roster invitees to minor league camp today, including Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar, Tony Wolters, Shane Greene, Reyes Moronta, Tomas Telis, Stefen Romero and Eddy Alvarez.

While many minor league deals for veterans contain out clauses if they don’t make the roster, Lamb will remain with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link). His minor league deal does have out clauses in both May and July, Toribio adds. Similarly, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweets that Pillar passed on his first opt-out opportunity (April 2) but has other opt-out chances later in the deal.

Lamb had a huge Spring Training, going 9-for-27 with a pair of homers and three doubles, but his bid to make the roster as a corner bat off the bench will come up a bit short, at least initially. Los Angeles is going with a short three-man bench to begin the season, deferring to a slate of 16 pitchers at least early on in the wake of an abbreviated Spring Training.

Pillar, meanwhile, signed a bit later and had just two hits in 18 plate appearances, albeit one of them being a home run. He, in particular, seems like a candidate to eventually get a look as a bench option for the Dodgers, who don’t look as though they’ll carry a traditional fourth outfielder alongside backup catcher Austin Barnes, utility infielder Hanser Alberto and infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios. The recent trade of AJ Pollock thinned out the outfield mix in L.A., likely leaving Rios and infielder Gavin Lux as the backup options to Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor across the outfield.

It’s not yet clear whether all of the players who were reassigned today will stick with the team and head to the minors, though it’s common this time of year to see veterans on non-roster deals return to the open market or, in some instances, be traded to another club that has a more clear opening for their services.

Dodgers To Sign Eddy Alvarez

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The Dodgers have signed infielder Eddy Alvarez, as announced by Alvarez himself on his Instagram page.  Due to the lockout, Alvarez’s contract must be a minor league deal, and he was eligible to sign since was already a minor league free agent at the start of the offseason.

Alvarez has already carved out a unique niche for himself in sports history as one of just six athletes to win medals in different sports at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.  Alvarez won a silver medal as part of the Team USA baseball team this past summer in Tokyo, and he previously won a silver medal as part of the U.S. 5000m relay speed-skating team at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

The Miami native returned to baseball following the end of his speed-skating career, and he spent five seasons in the White Sox farm system before joining his hometown Marlins prior to the 2019 season.  Alvarez made it to the Show in each of the last two seasons, and he has a .188/.287/.287 slash line over 115 big league plate appearances with the Marlins.

Alvarez turns 32 later this month, and while he has had some hitting success at the Triple-A level, the age gap compared to other minor leaguers (not to mention the livelier ball used across Triple-A baseball in 2019) might explain his strong numbers.  That said, a .279/.377/.447 slash line in 929 Triple-A plate appearances is no small feat, so it tracks that the Dodgers would want to take a look at Alvarez in Spring Training.  He fits the Dodgers’ preferred model of versatile players, as Alvarez has quite a bit of experience as a second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop during his pro career.

Marlins Outright Four Off 40-Man Roster

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The Marlins have outrighted infielders Eddy Alvarez and Deven Marrero and right-handers Preston Guilmet and Andrew Bellatti off their 40-man roster, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The Fish now have 36 players on the 40-man roster, but with seven players on the 60-day injured list, they’ll still need to clear three more spots to reinstate all of their injured players between now and the conclusion of the postseason. All four players will be eligible for minor league free agency.

Of the two infielders, Alvarez saw significantly more action in 2021, compiling a .188/.297/.328 line across 74 plate appearances. He also made a few headlines in both 2020 and 2021: first when he became the first Winter Olympic medalist to appear in a Major League Game (he won a silver medal in speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Games), then again when he became the third American to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (he was a member of the silver-winning USA baseball squad in this summer’s Tokyo Games).

Marrero, a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2012, put together a similar .188/.316/.375 line across just 19 PAs. He’s seen big-league action in six seasons (three with Boston, one with Arizona, and two with Miami) but has never managed to put together an extended run of production. Across a career-high 188 PAs for the BoSox in 2017, he managed only a meager .211/.259/.333 triple-slash. He hasn’t managed much more in the minors (he has a .623 OPS across 490 games in Triple-A) but remains a plus defender and could get a chance to catch on elsewhere.

Like Marrero, neither Guilmet nor Bellatti saw much time on the field for the Marlins. Guilmet covered only two innings (4.50 ERA) in two appearances, while Bellatti was roughed up (13.50 ERA) in a tiny sample of 3 1/3 IP in three trips to the mound. Guilmet’s track record is much longer, appearing with seven clubs across five big-league seasons, but he’s never seen more innings than the 10 1/3 he covered for Baltimore in 2014.

Bellatti’s brief run in 2021 was his first in the bigs since he posted a strong 2.31 ERA (albeit with a 5.23 FIP) across 23 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2015 before injuries derailed his career. He was out of baseball entirely in 2017 and ’18 before latching on with the Yankees Double-A affiliate in 2019 (after a single outing with the Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters) and ultimately getting the call from the Marlins this year.

Marlins Designate Ross Detwiler, Select Eddy Alvarez

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The Marlins announced that left-hander Ross Detwiler has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up space for Eddy Alvarez to join Miami’s roster for the first time this season, as the infielder’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Jacksonville.

After working as a low-strikeout, groundball specialist for his first 12 Major League seasons, Detwiler flipped the script in 2021 after inking a one-year deal with Miami last winter.  Detwiler’s increased use of a slider has elevated his strikeout rate to 28% over 45 1/3 frames for the Marlins, exactly double the 14% strikeout rate he carried over the rest of his career.  Detwiler’s grounder rate has also dropped to 39.7% (from 47% prior to 2020).

Unfortunately for Detwiler, he hasn’t had much luck this season.  While he has a 3.38 SIERA and .299 xwOBA, his actual ERA (4.96) and wOBA (.328) are much less flattering.  He has worked almost entirely as a relief pitcher this season while making five “starts” as an opener, and two of those outings were responsible for much of the damage to Detwiler’s ERA.  If you subtract the 3 2/3 innings and 13 runs allowed over those two rough starts (July 7 against the Dodgers and July 19 against the Nationals), Detwiler has a 2.59 ERA over his remaining 41 2/3 innings of work.

Given this overall solid track record, it is a little surprising to see Detwiler hit the DFA wire, though the Marlins might simply want to give some opportunity to younger pitchers.  It seems quite possible that another club (perhaps a contender looking for left-handed relief depth) will claim Detwiler away from Miami.  Detwiler wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play since he would be joining a new team after August 31, though he could certainly help a team on the bubble get into the playoffs.

A waiver claim would mean absorbing the approximately $108K remaining on Detwiler’s original $850K salary for the season, but that is hardly a hefty sum to add to a payroll, unless a team is in a major luxury tax crunch.  If Detwiler isn’t claimed, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Marlins and choose free agency.

Alvarez made his MLB debut last season, appearing in 12 games with his hometown Marlins and hitting .189/.268/.216 over 41 plate appearances.  Perhaps best known for his two-sport exploits, Alvarez was an accomplished speed skater who won a silver medal as part of the U.S. 5000m relay team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.  Alvarez compounded that success by winning a silver medal as a member of the American baseball team at this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, making him just the sixth athlete in history to capture medals in different sports at both the Winter and Summer Games.

USA Baseball Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster

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11:10AM: The full roster has been announced by USA Baseball (Twitter link).  Beyond the names already mentioned, the roster also includes Clayton Andrews, Jonathan Bowlan, Brandon Dickson, DJ Johnson, Trevor Lane, Matthew Liberatore, Drew Parrish, Marc Rzepczynski, James Sherfy, Simeon Woods Richardson, Tim Federowicz, Mark Kolozsvary, Nick Allen, Eddy Alvarez, Logan Forsythe, Luke Williams, Eric Filia, and Jon Jay.

9:54AM: The United States Olympic baseball team will have its full roster announced later today, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that several well-known big league names will be part of Team USA.

Right-handers Homer Bailey, Edwin Jackson, and David Robertson will be part of the pitching mix, as will left-hander Anthony Gose.  Matt Kemp, Matt Wieters, and Todd Frazier are some of the veteran position players.  Bailey, Kemp, and Wieters all played in the majors as recently as 2020 and didn’t sign with a new team this past offseason, while Frazier appeared in 13 games for the Pirates just this season.  It was only back on May 13 that Frazier chose to become a free agent, after Pittsburgh designated him for assignment.

Beyond these experienced names, some notable youngsters will also be on the team, as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe noted yesterday that Red Sox prospects Triston Casas and Jarren Duran are participating.  Rays right-handed pitching prospect Joe Ryan is also expected to be part of the team, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Any player not on a current 40-man Major League roster was eligible for Team USA, though naturally a team would have to agree to allow its minor leaguers to play.

Mike Scioscia will manage Team USA, and the team will take to the field on May 31-June 5 during a qualifying tournament in Florida.  The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela are the other seven teams involved, and the winner of the tournament will automatically qualify for the Olympics.  The second- and third-place finishers will advance to a final qualifying tournament against Australia, Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands on June 16-20 in Mexico, and the winner of that event will claim the sixth and final Olympic berth.

Japan, Mexico, Israel, and South Korea have already qualified for the baseball event at Olympic Games, which are scheduled to be held July 23-August 6 in Tokyo.  Originally set to take place in 2020, the Olympics were naturally postponed for a year due to the pandemic, and the Games are still slated to get underway in July despite a worsening COVID-19 situation in Japan.

Marlins Sign Sandy Leon To Minors Contract

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JANUARY 4: Leon’s deal comes with a $1.25MM base salary if he makes the MLB roster, with additional incentives available, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

JANUARY 3: The Marlins have signed catcher Sandy Leon to a minor league deal.  The contract contains an invitation for Leon to attend Miami’s big league Spring Training camp.  In addition to Leon, the Marlins also officially announced six other players (infielder Eddy Alvarez, catcher Brian Navarreto, and right-handers Zach Thompson, Alexander Guillen, Anthony Bender, and Luis Madero) received spring invites on minor league contracts.

A veteran of nine big league seasons, Leon is best known for his five seasons with the Red Sox from 2015-19, a stint that saw him collect a World Series ring in 2018 and unexpectedly step up as an offensive threat (.845 OPS in 283 plate appearances) in 2016.  That 2016 campaign stands out as a big outlier amidst Leon’s overall career numbers, however, as he has a .216/.284/.327 slash line over 1379 career PA.

Leon didn’t even reach that modest level of production in 2020, as he hit .136/.296/.242 in 81 PA with the Indians.  It’s pretty clear Miami isn’t signing Leon for his bat, but rather his well-documented defensive skill — Leon is well-respected as a game-caller and he was an above-average pitch-framer in both 2018 and 2019.  Leon also has some impressive caught-stealing numbers over his career, though those totals have dipped over the last two years.

The signings of both Leon and Navarreto add some depth to a Marlins catching mix that consists of Jorge Alfaro and Chad Wallach.  Alfaro is coming off a tough season at the plate, but as a former top prospect, he’ll be given plenty more chances to firmly establish himself as a regular backstop.  Wallach is another defense-first catcher, so with Leon now in the mix, Wallach will need a solid showing in Spring Training to retain his job on the active roster.

Navarreto is back in Miami after making his MLB debut with the team last season, appearing in two games.  Originally a sixth-round pick for the Twins in the 2013 draft, Navarreto has hit .214/.264/.307 over 1753 career PA in the minors (in the Twins and Yankees farm systems) without ever reaching Triple-A ball.  He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins last winter but naturally never appeared in the minors due to the cancellation of the minor league season.

Alvarez is the only other member of the group to appear in the majors, as he hit .189/.268/.216 for the Marlins last season in the first 41 Major League plate appearances of his career.  Alvarez’s MLB debut made headlines, as the former Olympic silver medal-winning speed skater became the first former Olympian (in a sport besides baseball, of course) to appear in the majors since the legendary Jim Thorpe.  Beginning his career as an undrafted free agent, Alvarez has hit .278/.375/.413 with 40 homers over 2430 minor league PA, working mostly as a shortstop but also playing a significant amount of second and third base.

Marlins Select Braxton Garrett

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The Marlins selected the contract of left-hander Braxton Garrett and named him the 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Phillies, per a club announcement. They’ve also activated right-hander Nick Neidert from the injured list, optioning left-hander Dan Castano to open active roster space. To clear space on the 40-man roster for Garrett and Neidert, southpaw Brandon Leibrandt was transferred to the 60-day injured list with left elbow ulnar neuritis and infielder Eddy Alvarez was designated for assignment.

Garrett is the most notable name in today’s swath of moves, having been selected seventh overall in the 2016 draft out of an Alabama high school. An ill-timed Tommy John surgery the following June threw Garrett off track, and his prospect status has never completely bounced back. Nevertheless, he’s still among the most talented arms in the Miami farm system, with Baseball America recently placing him ninth among Marlins prospects thanks to his 92-95 MPH fastball and plus curveball. Garrett was due to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The contending Marlins can afford to devote a roster spot to him a few months earlier if they anticipate him helping their playoff push.

Like Garrett, Neidert is one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects. He was part of Miami’s season-opening roster but pitched in just one game before going on the IL amidst the team’s COVID-19 outbreak. The command artist turned in a 5.05 ERA in 41 Triple-A innings last year (deceptively productive work given the high-octane offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League).

Alvarez, meanwhile, was one of the more remarkable stories in baseball this season. The 30-year-old former Olympic speed skater cracked Miami’s MLB roster in the wake of their COVID outbreak. Unfortunately, he didn’t do nearly enough to hold down a roster spot permanently, hitting just .189/.268/.216 in 41 plate appearances.

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