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D-backs Release Humberto Mejia, Ryan Meisinger

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The Diamondbacks have released right-handers Humberto Mejia and Ryan Meisinger from their Triple-A affiliate in Reno yesterday, according to the transactions log at MiLB.com. Mejia was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A earlier this season. Meisinger inked a minor league deal late in Spring Training and didn’t appear for the big league club this season.

Mejia, 25, was one of three players acquired in the 2020 trade that sent Starling Marte from Arizona to Miami. Lefties Caleb Smith and Julio Frias also landed in Arizona by way of that deal, which was largely driven by finances. The D-backs reportedly had no intention of picking up Marte’s $12.5MM option for the 2021 season on the heels of a shortened 2020 slate with no gate revenue.

At the time of the swap, Mejia was an interesting name. He’s posted huge numbers across two Class-A levels in 2019 and, due to a lack of a minor league season in 2020, made a brief big league debut with Miami that summer. He opened the 2021 season with Arizona’s Double-A affiliate and pitched reasonably well, logging a 4.22 ERA with far more impressive strikeout and walk rates, but Mejia has been clobbered both in Triple-A (86 2/3 innings, 6.23 ERA) and in the Majors (22 1/3 innings, 7.25 ERA) with the Diamondbacks. Mejia has solid strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career, but he’s also battled shoulder injuries and, since reaching the upper minors, become increasingly susceptible to home runs.

The 28-year-old Meisinger has now been with five organizations since being selected by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 2015 draft. He’s seen big league time in Baltimore (2018), St. Louis (2020) and with the Cubs (2021) but only tallied 31 total innings in the Majors. He’s been tagged for a grisly 7.26 ERA in that stretch, thanks to home-run troubles of his own as well as a bloated 13.8% walk rate.

Meisinger tossed 14 2/3 innings with Triple-A Reno this season and yielded 10 runs on 19 hits and seven walks with 16 strikeouts. It was a rough showing, but his broader track record in Triple-A remains strong. Even with this year’s 6.14 ERA, Meisinger carries a lifetime 3.37 mark through 117 2/3 innings in Triple-A and a 3.32 ERA in 81 1/3 Double-A frames. He’s fanned 29.7% of his opponents throughout his minor league career against a solid 7.9% walk rate. Things didn’t work out with the D-backs organization, clearly, but his strong minor league track record could earn him a look elsewhere.

Diamondbacks Place Luke Weaver On 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Luke Weaver has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation.  The placement is retroactive to April 8.  Left-hander Kyle Nelson has been called up from Triple-A to take Weaver’s spot on the active roster.  In other moves, the D’Backs outrighted southpaw Caleb Baragar and righty Humberto Mejia to Triple-A, as both of the recently-designated pitchers cleared waivers.

Weaver tossed two-thirds of an inning of relief work in Thursday’s 4-2 Arizona win over the Padres, allowing a run on three hits.  An elbow issue could be the reason behind that shaky outing, though Weaver was also dealing with a blister problem during the end of Spring Training.  Weaver worked exclusively as a starter in 2019-21, but the D’Backs are using him as a reliever in the early going of the season, so this IL stint could delay any eventual return to the rotation.

Nelson will now step into Arizona’s bullpen, and the southpaw’s first appearance will mark his Diamondbacks debut.  Nelson has pitched in each of the last two seasons, with only a 12.19 ERA to show for 10 1/3 innings in The Show.  The D’Backs claimed Nelson off waivers from the Guardians in November, after Nelson had spent all five of his professional seasons in Cleveland’s organization.

Rangers Trade Yonny Hernandez To Diamondbacks

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The Rangers have set their Opening Day roster, announcing a series of transactions that includes the trade of infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeferson Espinal. Arizona has designated right-hander Humberto Mejia for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.

Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.

Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.

Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.

Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.

As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.

Marlins Acquire Starling Marte For Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejia

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In a major deadline swap that no one could’ve foreseen a month ago, the Marlins announced Monday that they’ve acquired All-Star center fielder Starling Marte from the D-backs. Heading to Arizona are lefty Caleb Smith, right-hander Humberto Mejia and a player to be named later (reportedly Class-A lefty Julio Frias).

Starling Marte | Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Not long before the trade was agreed upon, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the D-backs throughout the day had been signaling to other teams that they don’t expect to pick up their $12.5MM club option on Starling Marte.

The aversion to picking up the option on Marte registers as a major surprise. It’s certainly not for any lack of production; Marte has been flat-out excellent in Arizona, hitting at a .311/.384/.443 clip with a pair of homers, eight doubles, a triple and five steals. His defense in center has graded out as +0.5, per Ultimate Zone Rating, and -2 per Defensive Runs Saved. Through 33 games, FanGraphs has Marte at 1.1 WAR, while Baseball-Reference has him at 0.9 — a pace that is roughly in line with Mate’s characteristic 3-4 WAR output.

Of course, the 2020 season has brought about some pressing revenue losses for all 30 clubs, and D-backs owner Ken Kendrick was among the most outspoken owners about the hardships faced by teams with fans unable to attend games. Kendrick pined for revenue sharing with players, placing the blame on them for the difficult negotiations and steadfastly expressing that owners would not green-light any scenario that saw games played into November.

As surprising as the fact that the D-backs are moving on from Marte is the fact that the Marlins are the team that will acquire him. Miami entered the season expected to be a cellar-dwelling outfit in the NL East, and those expectations only grew when more than half their active roster was sidelined by a team-wide Covid-19 outbreak. But Miami has continued to persevere, hovering around the .500 mark and now sitting in a tie for a postseason bid in the National League. Some exciting young players, Sixto Sanchez perhaps chief among them, have made their big league debuts in 2020, as other young talents like Pablo Lopez have taken substantial steps forward.

Miami’s move to add Marte comes in simultaneous conjuncture with another trade shipping the versatile Jonathan Villar to the Blue Jays. Marte will now step into his roster spot while making up for some of the speed lost with the Villar trade (and more overall offensive output). He’ll cost the Marlins an additional $1.71MM in 2020 — the remainder of this year’s prorated $11.5MM salary — and they’ll surely be picking up that $12.5MM option, given the price they paid to acquire him.

Moving forward, that’ll position the Marlins to trot out an outfield with Corey Dickerson in left field, Marte in center and some combination of Harold Ramirez, Monte Harrison, Lewis Brinson, Jesus Sanchez, Garrett Cooper or an outside addition to patrol right field. Alternatively, the Fish could push Brian Anderson back to right field and pursue a new third base option, though their abundance of in-house outfield options makes that seem less likely. Assuming that the options on both Marte and Brandon Kintzler are picked up, the Marlins will have $35.85MM on the 2021 books before arbitration raises to Anderson, Jorge Alfaro, Jesus Aguilar, Ryne Stanek and Yimi Garcia, among others.

The 29-year-old Smith, controlled through 2023, has missed bats in droves since being acquired from the Yankees prior to the 2018 season (259 punchouts in 233 2/3 innings). He’s also been plagued by injuries in that time, though, including a brutal Grade 3 lat strain in 2018 and a hip injury that cost him just shy of a month last year. Smith was placed on the injured list earlier this month after the Marlins’ Covid-19 outbreak and has pitched just three innings so far. He looked rusty, issuing six free passes in that time. Overall, he has a 4.39 ERA and 10.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in his time with Miami.

But Smith also fits the modus operandi we frequently see under general manager Mike Hazen in Arizona. Rather than moving Marte for well-regarded but unproven prospects, he’s instead added a big league arm who can step immediately onto the roster and help this year and for years to come. Smith, in many ways, gives the Snakes a replacement for the recently traded Robbie Ray — one who bears some stark similarities to Ray, as a high-strikeout lefty with occasional control difficulties.

Also able to provide help in the very near future will be the 23-year-old Mejia, who made his big league debut earlier this season. He’s allowed six earned runs on 13 hits and six walks with 11 strikeouts in eight MLB innings. His promotion to the big leagues was in some ways necessitated by the aforementioned outbreak, as he’d yet to even pitch at Double-A when he was promoted. The Diamondbacks may well want to get Mejia some additional development time before bringing him to Chase Field, but he’s already on the 40-man roster and has gotten his feet wet in the bigs, so he’s a viable option anytime moving forward.

As for Frias, he’ll give Arizona a 22-year-old southpaw who shined as a 21-year-old in short-season Class-A last year, when he pitched to a 2.83 ERA with a 73-to-23 K/BB ratio in 70 innings. Frias isn’t considered among the Marlins’ best prospects, but Miami has a relatively deep system after years of rebuilding moves. FanGraphs called Frias a “low-slot lefty” whose heater touches 97 mph but who has battled poor command at times. He’s a much further-off piece, but any club would welcome the opportunity to add a power-armed, left-handed lottery ticket.

SportsGrid’s Craig Mish broke the news that the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported (on Twitter) that a deal had been reached. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported various aspects of the return (all Twitter links).

Marlins Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Marlins have made a series of roster moves this afternoon, announcing via Twitter that they’ve activated three players—pitchers Robert Dugger and Alex Vesia, along with catcher Chad Wallach—from the injured list. Meanwhile, right-hander Humberto Mejia was optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while RHP Brett Eibner, catcher Brian Navarreto, and LHP Josh D. Smith were designated for assignment.

Eibner, Navarreto, and Smith will no longer occupy a position on the Miami 40-man roster. The Marlins will have a week to either trade, release, or outright assign those three players.

Eibner, a former outfielder, has made the transition to pitcher, making his first two big league appearances with the Marlins, though they didn’t play out as hoped, with Eibner surrendering three earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of work.

Dugger and Vesia will replace Eibner and Smith in the Miami pitching staff, offering one righty and one lefty option. Dugger, Vesia, and Wallach were all placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

Marlins Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Marlins announced a series of roster moves Tuesday, including the contract selections of right-hander Brett Eibner and lefty Brandon Leibrandt. They also optioned righties Jordan Yamamoto and Justin Shafer and infielder Lewin Diaz to their alternate training site; moved righty Mike Morin to the 45-day injured list; placed lefty Brian Moran on the 10-day IL with right knee patella tendonitis; recalled righty Humberto Mejia from their training site; and reinstated outfielder Corey Dickerson from the paternity list.

Eibner, a former Royals and Dodgers outfielder, last appeared in the majors in 2017. He switched to a two-way role thereafter and performed well enough as a pitcher in independent ball for the Marlins to recently purchase his contract from the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the Constellation Energy League.

Leibrandt also isn’t far removed from joining the Marlins, who inked the ex-Phillies farmhand to a minors pact earlier this month. Most recently a member of the independent Somerset Patriots, the 27-year-old has never pitched in the bigs. He did enjoy a productive season in Triple-A ball in 2018, though, before succumbing to Tommy John surgery.

Marlins’ Roster Moves: Bleier, Venditte, Mejia, Moran

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The Miami Marlins placed recent acquisition Richard Bleier on the injured list with a “mild strain in his elbow in his elbow bicep”, per MLB Network contributor Craig Mish (via Twitter). In corresponding moves, the Marlins selected the contract of Pat Venditte, the switch-pitcher recently brought to camp. Humberto Mejia has been optioned to the alternate site. Lefty Brian Moran has been put back on the active roster, per Mish.

Bleier made three appearances with the Fish since coming over via trade from the Orioles. He allowed 1 run on 1 hit in 1 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old southpaw didn’t make his big league debut until 2016 as a 29-year-old. In the 4+ seasons since, he has mustered a respectable 3.02 ERA/3.73 FIP across 169 appearances (179 innings) for the Yankees, Orioles, and Marlins.

Venditte got into a game for the first time in 2020 tonight, but he previously appeared in parts of four seasons for the A’s, Blue Jays, Mariners, Dodgers, and Giants. Venditte’s gimmick is well-known throughout baseball as an ambidextrous pitcher, but he’s struggled on the whole as a major leaguer. In 58 appearances, Venditte owns a 5.03 ERA/5.04 FIP, though the 35-year-old continues to see opportunities. To his credit, he also continues to post solid numbers in Triple-A, including a 2.85 ERA across 47 1/3 innings with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019.

Mejia, 23, will no doubt find his way back to the majors after a fine debut. The Panamanian right-hander started one game as an extended opener, going 2 1/3 innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out six. In a year of unprecedented roster moves, it’s a safe bet that Mejia will find his way back to the show at some point in 2020.

Last but not least, Moran, 31, made his major-league debut as a 30-year-old with the Marlins last season. He appeared in 10 games going 6 1/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA/4.00 FIP. The lefty hurler notably made MLB history by striking out his younger brother Colin Moran in the first-ever brother-brother showdown. He signed with the Blue Jays this offseason after the Marlins made him a free agent, only to be claimed off waivers last week.

Marlins Notes: Free Agents, Castellanos, Urena, Chen, Mejia

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While the Marlins have made it clear that upgrading the offense is a priority this winter, the team would prefer to stay away from long-term contracts so as not to block its younger position players, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  Any number of veterans could fit as short-term adds for 2020, though it does mean the Marlins likely won’t be signing Marcell Ozuna or Nicholas Castellanos, two free agents Miami was rumored to have interest in signing.  Jackson notes that the Fish aren’t keen to give up the draft pick necessary to sign Ozuna (who rejected a Cardinals’ qualifying offer), while Castellanos is probably also unlikely, though the Marlins “could enter the bidding if he’s still available in a few weeks and willing to accept a shorter deal.”  One would imagine that if Castellanos was open to a short-term deal, however, he might prefer to take such a contract with a contending team rather than the rebuilding Marlins.

Some more from South Beach…

  • Also from Jackson’s piece, “the Marlins are leaning toward tendering” a contract to Jose Urena, who is projected for a $4MM salary in arbitration this offseason.  After solid results in 2017-18, Urena struggled to a 5.21 ERA over 84 2/3 innings in a season hampered by injury, and it’s possible Miami could now opt to use him as a reliever rather than the rotation.  Even for a low-payroll team like the Marlins, $4MM doesn’t seem like too expensive a sum for a pitcher with Urena’s resume, though Jackson notes that Miami could tender Urena a contract now and then release him before Opening Day (thus paying only a fraction of his agreed-upon salary) if they don’t like what they see in Spring Training.
  • After a busy day of roster additions and subtractions on Wednesday, president of baseball operations Michael Hill discussed the team’s moves with reporters (including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro and Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel).  The most notable transactions was Wei-Yin Chen being designated for assignment, which all but officially ended the southpaw’s disappointing tenure in Miami after signing a five-year, $80MM deal in the 2015-16 offseason.  Chen still has one year and $22MM remaining on that contract, though the DFA “was not about money.  It was about building the best and deepest 40-man roster to allow us to compete in 2020 and beyond,” Hill said.  Since Chen wasn’t expected to be a big contributor next season and his trade value was virtually non-existent, it isn’t a shock that the Marlins felt that Chen’s roster spot was better used to protect a young player from the Rule 5 Draft.
  • All in all, six players were added to the 40-man in advance of the Rule 5 deadline — shortstop Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Lewin Diaz, and right-handers Sixto Sanchez, Nick Neidert, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera.  It seems like Mejia was the only member of the group who wasn’t a no-brainer, as his inclusion on the 40-man “took a lot of discussion among our group,” Hill said. “He battled injuries in his history, but you’re talking about a very physical right-handed pitcher with three pitches and he’s an extreme strike-thrower.  We feel he’s a future major league starter and we didn’t think we should leave that profile exposed.”  As Hill noted, Mejia “pitched his way onto the roster” following a strong 2019 season that saw the righty post a 2.09 ERA over 90 1/3 innings at the A-ball and high-A ball levels.

Marlins Designate Wei-Yin Chen, Add Six To 40-Man Roster

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The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve designated left-hander Wei-Yin Chen for assignment and added six players to their MLB roster: shortstop Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Lewin Diaz and right-handers Sixto Sanchez, Nick Neidert, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. Miami owes Chen $22MM in 2020 — the final season of a five-year, $80MM free-agent contract.

Chen, now 34, was a steady source of quality innings from 2012-15 in Baltimore, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in the hitter-friendly AL East while averaging 29.25 starts and 176 innings per year. That durability and reliability led the Marlins to invest a whopping five-year, $80MM contract in the lefty when he hit the free-agent market, but the deal went south almost immediately. Chen barely kept his ERA under 5.00 and tossed just 123 1/3 innings in his first year with the Marlins. A UCL injury wiped out nearly all of his 2017 season and much of the 2018 campaign, and he pitched just 68 1/3 innings of ineffective relief work in 2019. Overall, he recorded a dismal 5.10 ERA in 358 innings with Miami.

Of the prospects protected tonight were acquired via the trade market, Chisholm (Zac Gallen), Diaz (Sergio Romo), Sanchez (J.T. Realmuto) and Neidert (Dee Gordon) were all acquired on the trade market under the team’s current ongoing rebuild. Sanchez is considered to be among the game’s premier pitching prospects, while Chisholm has drawn top 100 billing as well despite a rough showing at Double-A in 2019. Diaz was acquired from the Twins amid a huge rebound campaign. Neidert had an injury shortened ’19 season but profiles as a back-end starter. Cabrera reached Double-A as a 21-year-old this past season, while the 22-year-old Mejia turned in similarly impressive numbers and topped out in Class-A Advanced.

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