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Jorge Guzman

Giants Sign Jorge Guzman To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a two-year minor league contract with free-agent righty Jorge Guzman, his agents at PNY Sports announced earlier this month on Instagram.

It’s rare to see two-year minor league pacts, which are typically agreed upon when it’s known that a player will miss a portion of the upcoming season. Guzman missed nearly all of the 2021 campaign with the Marlins due to elbow issues, which landed him on the 60-day IL in August. I’m told he ultimately required elbow surgery in September, from which he’s still rehabbing. An exact timetable for his return to the mound hasn’t been established, but because Guzman isn’t on the 40-man roster, he’s able to head to the team’s spring complex and work out with the training and medical staff even during the lockout.

Once viewed among the game’s Top 100 prospects over at Baseball America, Guzman was the headline prospect in the trade that sent Giancarlo Stanton from Miami to the Bronx. Prior to that deal, he was involved in another swap of note, going from Houston to New York in exchange for Brian McCann. At the time of the Stanton deal, Guzman was coming off a 2.30 ERA and an 88-to-18 K/BB ratio through 66 innings with the Yankees’ short-season Class-A affiliate. He went on to have a pair of solid seasons in the middle levels of the Miami system, including a career-high 138 2/3 innings of 3.50 ERA ball in 2019.

Unfortunately, owing to elbow troubles and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Guzman has pitched just 18 total innings since that time. Those injuries eventually led to Guzman being jettisoned from the Marlins’ 40-man roster, and he elected minor league free agency after clearing outright waivers.

Health issues notwithstanding, it’s easy to see why any club would want to take what’s more or less a zero-risk flier on this type of arm. Guzman has averaged better than 96 mph in his limited big league action and can reach 101-102 mph with his heater. His slider has received above-average or better grades on scouting reports, and he only just turned 26 over the weekend. He still has just 18 total innings above the Double-A level, so beyond any necessary rehab work, the Giants may prefer to get him a look at the Triple-A level once healthy.

Marlins Outright Jorge Guzman, Jeff Brigham

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The Marlins have reinstated right-handers Jorge Guzman and Jeff Brigham from the 60-day injured list and outrighted both pitchers to Triple-A Jacksonville.  Since the 60-day IL placements meant that Guzman and Brigham already weren’t on the 40-man roster, Miami’s 40-man remains at 36 players.

Guzman missed much of the season due to two separate visits to the 60-day IL due to elbow problems, and he appeared in only two games.  The 25-year-old’s MLB career thus far consists only of three games and 2 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with a garish 27.00 ERA over that very small sample size.

It wasn’t long ago that the hard-throwing Guzman was regarded as one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, which is particularly notable given the number of quality arms in the organization.  However, many of those other pitchers are simply now a higher priority considering Guzman has barely pitched in two full seasons.  Beyond his cups of coffee in the majors, Guzman also tossed only 15 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2021.

Brigham has seen even less action over the last two seasons.  The righty spent all of 2021 on the 60-day injured list due to an unspecified injury, and threw only one inning with the Marlins in 2020, as he was one of many players caught up in the team’s COVID-19 outbreak that summer.

Brigham saw more action with the Marlins in 2018-19, posting a 5.01 ERA over 54 2/3 innings of work.  Originally a fourth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2014 draft, Brigham has been with Miami since 2015, coming to the Fish as part of the whopping 13-player, three-team swap between the Marlins, Braves, and Dodgers at the 2015 trade deadline.

Marlins Select Deven Marrero; Brian Anderson Could Require Shoulder Surgery

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5:45 pm: Anderson is evaluating his options for treatment, with surgery a possibility, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Even if he does require some sort of operation, it remains possible he’ll be ready for the start of Spring Training next season. Anderson is not expected to return in 2021 whether or not surgery is required.

4:28 pm: The Marlins are selecting the contract of infielder Deven Marrero, the team informed reporters (including Daniel Álvarez Montes of ElExtraBase). Third baseman Brian Anderson is going on the 10-day injured with a left shoulder subluxation. To create space for Marrero on the 40-man roster, the team transferred right-hander Jorge Guzmán from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

It’s familiar territory for Marrero, who has now been selected to the big league club on five separate occasions this season. He has been designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers shortly after each previous time, and he’s tallied just eleven MLB plate appearances altogether. The 31-year-old owns a .230/.310/.355 line over 174 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville this season.

Anderson is landing on the IL with a shoulder subluxation for the second time this season. His first subluxation required a two-month recovery timeline. It has been a frustrating year for Anderson, who also missed a couple weeks with an oblique issue. The series of injuries has limited him to 264 plate appearances, in which he’s hit a league average .249/.337/.378.

It’s quite possible the health problems and stop-and-start nature of the season have kept him from getting into a rhythm, as that’s Anderson’s least productive output since he became a regular in 2018. Over the previous three seasons, the right-handed hitter posted a quality .266/.350/.436 line. With Miami out of contention, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Anderson is eventually shut down with an eye towards getting back to full strength in 2022.

Guzmán’s season is officially brought to a close. The hard-throwing righty landed on the IL with right elbow soreness in mid-August, so today’s transfer forecloses any chance of him making it back this year. Guzmán has been limited by injury to three big league appearances over the past couple seasons but he’s not far-removed from being viewed by public prospect evaluators as a potential impact reliever.

Marlins Designate Shawn Morimando, Place Zach Pop On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Shawn Morimando for assignment and placed righty Zach Pop on the 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Jorge Guzman and left-hander Sean Guenther were called up from Triple-A to take the two spots on the active roster.  (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the moves.)

Pop has been sidelined with soreness in the middle finger of his throwing hand, interrupting a very respectable rookie season for the 24-year-old.  Over his first 43 1/3 innings in the majors, Pop has a 4.36 ERA/4.05 SIERA, plus a 58.1% grounder rate that has continued his reputation from the minors as a groundball specialist.  The Marlins landed Pop via the Rule 5 Draft (acquiring the right-hander from the Diamondbacks after Arizona drafted him out of the Orioles’ organization), and Pop has certainly pitched well enough to remain on the MLB roster for the entire season, so Miami will retain his rights going forward.

This is the second time the Marlins have DFA’ed Morimando this season, with the first designation resulting in an outright assignment to Triple-A for the southpaw.  After making his big league debut with Cleveland in 2016, Morimando didn’t receive another MLB opportunity until this season, when he posted a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings for the Marlins.

Marlins Activate Jorge Guzman

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The Marlins have activated right-hander Jorge Guzman from the 60-day injured list, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay. He has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, which is now full.

Guzman, a hard-throwing pitching prospect, made his MLB debut with Miami last season. He began this year with Jacksonville, making four appearances before going down with elbow inflammation. A starting pitcher for much of his minor league career, he’d been working out of the bullpen with the Jumbo Shrimp this season. That’s generally been the expected outcome for the 25-year-old. Entering the year, Baseball America ranked Guzman the #22 prospect in the organization, writing that he could be a productive reliever if he develops adequate control.

Additionally, the Marlins outrighted a pair of hurlers who had recently been designated for assignment: lefty Shawn Morimando and righty Preston Guilmet. Both pitchers made one-day cameos on the roster last weekend. Morimando tossed five innings of scoreless relief, while Guilmet was designated without having made an appearance. Both pitchers have been outrighted before, giving them the right to elect free agency in lieu of assignment to Jacksonville.

Marlins Select Luis Madero, Option Daniel Castano

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The Marlins are selecting the contract of right-hander Luís Madero, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald was among those to relay (Twitter link). Lefty Daniel Castano was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, while right-hander Jorge Guzman was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space.

Madero has bounced between a few organizations in his pro career but has yet to make his MLB debut.  Originally signed by the Diamondbacks as an international amateur, he was sent to the Angels at the 2017 trade deadline for reliever David Hernández. Madero eventually worked his way onto Los Angeles’ 40-man roster and was named the #19 prospect in the organization entering the 2019 season by Baseball America. He struggled at Double-A that year, though, working to a 5.72 ERA in a pitcher-friendly environment. The Angels designated him for assignment and lost him on waivers to the Giants after the season.

San Francisco passed Madero through waivers shortly thereafter, and he spent the 2020 season at their alternate training site. He didn’t make it back on the roster and wound up electing minor-league free agency. Miami signed Madero to a minors deal in January, and he’s earned a major league call after just one Triple-A appearance. Madero has plenty of starting experience in the minors, so he offers rotation and/or long relief depth for the Fish. The 24-year-old still has a pair of option years remaining, so he can be sent back-and-forth between Miami and Jacksonville if he keeps his spot on the 40-man.

Castano, 26, has started four games for the Marlins this year but hasn’t found much success. The soft-tossing lefty has been knocked around for a 5.19 ERA/5.47 SIERA over 17 1/3 innings. Castano prevented runs at a strong clip over seven games last season, but his peripherals always suggested that was unlikely to continue. He simply hasn’t missed enough bats to establish himself as a big league starter, compiling a minuscule 10.8% career strikeout rate.

Guzman, one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, has been battling elbow inflammation. General manager Kim Ng told reporters in March he’d be “out for a bit,” so it’s not particularly surprising to see him wind up on the 60-day IL.

Injury Notes: Realmuto, Grisham, Inciarte, Romine, Guzman

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J.T. Realmuto has been cleared for baseball activities, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury).  Realmuto’s tasks today included hitting off a tee and making 40 throws from 90-foot distances, as the catcher continues to work his way back from a right thumb fracture.  There is some optimism that Realmuto will be ready to go for the Phillies’ opener on April 1, with Salisbury writing that the club could take it easy with Realmuto’s playing time over the season’s first week or so, should Realmuto still need a bit of prep time.

A brief injured list to begin the season also isn’t out of the question for Realmuto, as with backdating, he would only miss the first six games.  Backup catcher Andrew Knapp would step in as the interim starter, though finding a second catcher could be a little complicated.  Rafael Marchan (the only other catcher on the 40-man roster) is battling a hamstring problem, so the Phillies could need to open up a 40-man space to find room for Jeff Mathis or Christian Bethancourt, both in camp on minor league deals.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Padres outfielder Trent Grisham left today’s game with what manager Jayce Tingler called “a slight strain in his hamstring.”  Grisham didn’t think the injury was terribly serious, but Tingler told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell and other reporters that Grisham will be re-evaluated tomorrow.  Grisham enjoyed a breakout season in 2020 that included a Gold Glove, and while the Padres have a lot of depth, they won’t be able to easily cover center field if Grisham’s hamstring lands him on the IL.  Jurickson Profar might be the top fill-in choice, as Profar has been getting some work in center field this spring.
  • Ender Inciarte has been hampered by a thumb injury that has kept him out of action since March 4.  Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Inciarte is “progressing, but he’s not to the point he can go out and get a game at-bat right now, so we’ll have to see.”  As Burns notes, star prospect Cristian Pache was already looking like a strong bet to break camp with the team, and an Inciarte absence would all but assure Pache of a spot on the Opening Day roster.  Inciarte hit only .190/.262/.250 over 131 PA in 2020, and is now entering the last guaranteed year of his contract.  With Pache and another noteworthy prospect in Drew Waters both knocking on the door for MLB playing time, Inciarte might be in his final year in Atlanta even if he does have a bounce-back season.
  • Cubs catcher Austin Romine hasn’t played since the weekend due to a right knee sprain, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.  While the problem isn’t considered to be too serious, there isn’t yet any plan for when Romine could return to action.  The veteran catcher signed a one-year, $1.5MM free agent deal to act as Willson Contreras’ backup this season.  Should Romine have to miss any time, veteran Jose Lobaton (in camp on a minors contract) would likely get the call, though the Cubs would have to make another move to add Lobaton to the 40-man roster.
  • Marlins righty Jorge Guzman is battling elbow inflammation and will be “out for a bit” of time, GM Kim Ng told the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson (Twitter link) and other reporters.  The hard-throwing Guzman was acquired as part of the Giancarlo Stanton trade in December 2017, and he ranked 87th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list prior to the 2018 season.  Guzman made his MLB debut in cup-of-coffee fashion in 2020, tossing one inning and allowing two homers.

Marlins Announce Numerous Roster Moves

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As they prepare to resume play, the Marlins have announced a flurry of additions to the active roster (as covered on Twitter by reporters including Jordan MacPherson of the Miami Herald). Just who’ll move to the COVID-19 injured list remains to be seen.

Most of these players were picked up in the last week or so as the organization’s coronavirus outbreak unfolded. The Fish will select the contracts of righties Nick Vincent and Josh A. Smith, infielders Logan Forsythe and Eddy Alvarez, and catcher Ryan Lavarnway.

Also coming up are a host of other fill-ins that had already gone onto the 40-man roster. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson are coming off of the injured list. Righties Justin Shafer, James Hoyt, and Mike Morin will join lefties Josh D. Smith, Richard Bleier, and Brian Moran in the bullpen.

Most notably, perhaps, are the additions of youngsters Jordan Yamamoto, Monte Harrison, and Jorge Guzman. Yamamoto had 15 solid starts in 2019 and will be looking to lock down a job for the foreseeable future. As for Harrison, a former top-100 prospect, it’ll be his first taste of the bigs. Guzman is a live-armed young hurler who’ll get his first look.

In other news from Miami, both president Derek Jeter and manager Don Mattingly pushed back on the prevailing narrative surrounding the team’s coronavirus issues. While the leaders acknowledged that some players may have let their guard down, they rejected any rumors that players had recklessly engaged in risky activities away from the ballpark.

Jeter also rejected the notion that the Marlins’ players had made their own decision to take the field against the Phillies after several players tested positive. He says the organization simply played a scheduled game and noted that the league and opposing team had full knowledge of the testing results.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Tonight marks the deadline for players to be added to their respective organizations’ 40-man rosters. Over the nine hours, there’ll be a flurry of moves, ranging from minor trades (like the one the Indians and Rays made yesterday), waiver claims and players being designated for assignment or outrighted. Each will be made to clear room for players who need protection from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players who signed at 18 years of age or younger and have five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have four professional seasons under their belts.

Here’s a rundown of players who’ve been added to their respective 40-man rosters (which will be updated throughout the day)…

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Marlins Add Seven Players To 40-Man Roster, Designate Three Others For Assignment

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The Marlins announced an avalanche of roster moves in advance of tonight’s deadline for protection from the Rule 5 Draft. Being selected to the 40-man roster are right-handers Jorge Guzman, Jordan Yamamoto, Jordan Holloway and Kyle Keller, infielder Isan Diaz, outfielder Monte Harrison and left-hander Jose Quijada. Adding that group required the creation of three spots on the 40-man roster, which led the club to designate left-hander Dillon Peters, outfielder Braxton Lee and right-hander Ben Meyer for assignment.

Of the players to be designated for assignment, Peters is perhaps the most interesting. It’s not long ago that the 26-year-old lefty was deemed one of the more promising arms in an admittedly thin Marlins system on the heels of a 2.38 ERA between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2016. Peters didn’t have gaudy strikeout numbers but showed excellent control, and he followed up that season with a 1.57 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 63 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2017.

He’s been shelled in the Majors, though, surrendering a 6.10 ERA in 59 innings while displaying walk issues that weren’t present as he worked through the minors. At this point, he’s 26-year-old (27 next August) who’s yet to even pitch at Triple-A and hasn’t had success in the Majors — but one who did draw praise for an above-average breaking ball in the past. A year ago at this time, he was viewed as a largely MLB-ready back-of-the-rotation starter.

Lee, meanwhile, drew plus running grades as a prospect and was said to have an average or better glove with a chance to play center. He’s never shown any semblance of power but has previously had excellent contact skills and even won a Double-A batting title in 2017. His 2018 campaign was a disaster, though, as Lee hit just .233/.316/.294 across three minor league levels and didn’t hit in a tiny sample of 18 MLB plate appearances.

Meyer, 26 later this offseason, debuted in 2018 and was clobbered for 22 runs in 19 innings of work. He was sensational in 2017, pitching to a 2.02 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 111 1/3 innings — but those numbers came against much younger opposition, as Meyer was a college pitcher in his third full pro season splitting the year between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. He logged a 4.24 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings this season.

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