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Kent Emanuel

Marlins Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club placing veteran outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Outfielder Dane Myers was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move. The Marlins also selected the contract of right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez, with lefty Kent Emanuel being designated for assignment in the corresponding move. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald first reported that Myers and Ramirez would be joining the club, while MLB.com’s Cristina De Nicola first reported Garcia’s IL stint and Emanuel’s DFA. Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El ExtraBase first reported that Garcia was headed to the shelf with a hamstring injury.

Garcia, 33 in June, signed a four-year, $53MM contract with the Marlins prior to the 2022 season and has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness ever since. He’s been limited to just 153 games since arriving in Miami by hamstring and back injuries, and has posted a paltry .218/.260/.322 slash line with a 61 wRC+ and -1.3 fWAR when healthy enough to take the field for the club. His 51 trips to the plate for Miami this year have been a moderate improvement over his previous work in the organization, though his wRC+ of 75 is still well below league average. While it’s not yet clear how long Garcia will be on the shelf, his previous hamstring strains with the club have typically sidelined him for about a month at a time.

Filling in for Garcia in the club’s outfield mix will be Myers, a 28-year-0ld who made his big league debut with Miami last season. Initially drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 draft by the Tigers, Myers appeared in just 22 games for the Marlins last year, slashing a pedestrian .269/.286/.358 in 70 trips to the plate. He’s struggled similarly at the Triple-A level this season with a .237/.336/.323 slash line in 107 plate appearances with the club’s affiliate in Jacksonville. Nonetheless, Myers figures to be part of the club’s rotating outfield mix alongside Jesus Sanchez and Nick Gordon, serving as a right-handed complement to the pair of lefties.

On the pitching side of things, the Marlins are set to welcome Ramirez onto the roster ahead of what will be his big league debut once he makes it into a game. The 29-year-old has spent more than a decade in the minors while pitching in the Padres, Braves, and Yankees systems but will now get his first major league opportunity with Miami after impressive with seven strong outings at the Triple-A level for the club this season. During that time, Ramirez has pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work while striking out a whopping 32% of batters faced. If the right-hander can keep that level of production up in the majors, he’ll surely be a major asset to a Marlins bullpen that has lackluster 4.84 ERA that’s good for the eighth-worst figure in the majors.

As for Emanuel, this is the second time he’s been designated for assignment by Miami this season. He’ll return to DFA limbo just one day after being selected back onto the roster with a 10.50 ERA in six innings of work for the club across his two stints in the majors. The Marlins will once again have seven days to either trade the lefty or attempt to pass him through waivers. If they succeed in doing the latter, Rivera will have the choice between remaining with the club as non-roster depth until and unless they decide to select him to the roster a third time or simply electing free agency in hopes of finding a better deal elsewhere.

Marlins Select Kent Emanuel, Designate Kyle Tyler

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The Marlins announced a pair of roster moves, as right-hander Kyle Tyler has been designated for assignment.  This creates roster space for Kent Emanuel, as the southpaw’s contract was selected from Triple-A.

Emanuel was DFA’ed himself in early April and then outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster.  Because he had previously been outrighted in his career, Emanuel had the right to reject the Marlins’ outright assignment and opt into free agency, though he instead chose to remain in the organization.  That decision has now led to Emanuel getting another call to the majors, even if it might be a short-term move to get a fresh arm into the Marlins’ bullpen.

In his one previous appearance this season, Emanuel allowed four runs over three relief innings in Miami’s 10-2 loss to the Angels on April 3.  This marked Emanuel’s first Major League action since he debuted with 10 games with the Astros in 2021, and he spent 2022-23 pitching in the Phillies’ and Pirates’ farm systems before signing a minor league deal with the Marlins back in February.

Working as both a starter and a reliever throughout his pro career, Emanuel’s swingman experience adds some depth to an injury-plagued Marlins pitching staff.  Jesus Luzardo was just placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday, leaving Miami scrambling for an extra arm on short notice in order to cover Luzardo’s scheduled start.  Andrew Maldonado got the start in his MLB debut and pitched three scoreless innings, and he was one of six pitchers who combined for the bullpen game in Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Nationals.

Tyler covered two of those innings on Friday, allowing one earned run over 21 pitches.  That outing marked Tyler’s first appearance since his own contract was selected from Triple-A last week, and his first MLB game since 2022 when Tyler pitched for the Padres.  All told, Tyler has a 2.45 ERA over 18 1/3 career innings in the Show, though with seven walks and only nine strikeouts allowed in that small sample size.

Because Tyler has also been outrighted before, he’d have the ability to select free agency if he clears DFA waivers and the Marlins tried to outright him off the 40-man roster.  Given the revolving-door nature of Miami’s bullpen, it could be that both Tyler, Emanuel, and other Marlins pitchers with outrights on their resume could be more prone to remaining with the team due to the greater opportunity available for more big league playing time.  The struggling Marlins look like they could be rotating arms through the pitching staff all year long, so a pitcher might prefer this semi-regular workload on the minor league shuttle rather than start from scratch with another organization.  Tyler in particular might prefer sticking with one team given his history of rapid-fire waiver claims.

Marlins Outright Kent Emanuel

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The Marlins have assigned left-hander Kent Emanuel outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to the transactions log on Emanuel’s MLB.com player profile. Emanuel was designated for assignment last week in order to make room for right-hander Matt Andriese on the club’s 40-man roster. Emanuel has the right to reject the assignment after being outrighted to the minors previously in his career by the Phillies back in November of 2022, though it’s unclear if he intends to exercise that right and test free agency or remain with the Marlins.

Emanuel, 32 in June, was a third-round pick by the Astros in the 2013 draft who made his big league debut with Houston back in 2021. Emanuel pitched decently across ten appearances in the majors, posting a strong 2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work despite a lackluster 19.1% strikeout rate and a whopping four home runs allowed leaving him with a much higher 5.49 FIP. That cup of coffee with the Astros would be the southpaw’s only big league experience until last week, when he pitched three innings for the Marlins against the Angels. The appearance didn’t go well as Emanuel was lit up for four runs on three walks and four hits, including a homer, while striking out just two of the 15 batters he faced.

Between his two stints in the majors, Emanuel spent the 2022 season with the Phillies and 2023 with the Pirates. He pitched primarily as a starter in the minors for both Pennsylvania clubs, impressing with a 2.37 ERA in ten starts at the Triple-A level with the Phillies but struggling badly across 84 1/3 innings of work in a swing role with Pittsburgh’s affiliate at the level. Over 20 appearances (13 starts) in Triple-A last year, Emanuel struggled to a 6.12 ERA while striking out just 20.1% of batters faced.

Despite those lackluster numbers last year, it’s easy to imagine a team in need of starting pitching depth having interest in Emanuel as an optionable, left-handed depth option on a non-roster deal. That could make free agency a tempting possibility for the southpaw, though it’s worth noting that few teams need pitching depth more than the Marlins themselves at this point in the season. With Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez set to miss the 2024 campaign while Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera both began on the injured list themselves, the club’s entire projected starting five outside of Jesus Luzardo is on the shelf as things stand, leaving the club to rely on the likes of Ryan Weathers and prospect Max Meyer.

Marlins Designate Kent Emanuel For Assignment, Select Matt Andriese

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The Marlins announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Matt Andriese from Triple-A Jacksonville and designated lefty Kent Emanuel for assignment in a corresponding move. Miami also optioned infielder Jonah Bride to Jacksonville, opening an active roster spot for infielder Emmanuel Rivera, whom they acquired from the D-backs on Tuesday.

Emanuel, 31, was selected to the roster himself earlier this week when Miami designated right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez for assignment. Like Gutierrez, he worked one long relief outing — three innings, four hits, four runs, three walks, two strikeouts — to help spare an overworked bullpen and will now be designated for assignment in favor of a fresh arm.

Emanuel has just 20 2/3 innings of MLB experience under his belt, including this recent brief stay with the Fish. The former third-rounder (Astros, 2013) has a 3.92 ERA and 15-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time. Emanuel pitched well at the Triple-A level in 2019 and 2022 but struggled there with the Pirates organization in 2023. He’s in his final minor league option year, so a new club could acquire him and send him to Triple-A without needing to worry about first passing him through waivers.

The 34-year-old Andriese will be making his first big league appearance since 2021 if and when he takes the ball for the Marlins. Like Emanuel and Gutierrez before him, he could be in for a short stay on Miami’s roster, as the overworked bullpen for a winless Marlins club could find itself in need of a fresh arm yet again in the near future. And, if Andriese enters the game, it’ll likely be in a multi-inning relief setting, which will render him unavailable in the short-term.

Andriese appeared in the big leagues in every season from 2015-21, logging 509 innings of 4.63 ERA ball along the way. The bulk of that work came with the Rays, for whom he pitched 339 innings with a 4.30 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate from 2015-19. Andriese spent the 2022 season with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants. He was with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate last year but never got a look in the majors.

Marlins Select Kent Emanuel, Designate Vladimir Gutierrez

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The Marlins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Kent Emanuel from Triple-A Jacksonville. Right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez, who was just selected to the big league roster prior to Sunday’s game, was designated for assignment to open a roster spot.

It’s a quick turnaround for Gutierrez, who returned to the majors Sunday for the first time in two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a member of the Reds. He tossed four innings of long relief and was tagged for three runs on three hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts. He’d been called up with Miami needing some length in the bullpen following a grueling first three games of the season for the relief corps, and while the right-hander filled the role that was asked, he’ll be removed from the 40-man roster to get another fresh arm up for today’s game. Gutierrez wouldn’t have been available for a couple days after that workload yesterday.

Gutierrez, 28, was a high-profile prospect out of Cuba who signed for a $4.75MM bonus (plus a 100% tax on that sum) with the Reds back in 2016. He wound up pitching just 150 2/3 innings between 2021-22 in Cincinnati, logging a 5.44 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates of 17.3% and 10.4%, respectively. As a prospect, he was touted as having a solid heater with a potentially plus slate of secondary offerings (curve, slider, changeup) — but he’s yet to find much consistency in the majors. The Marlins will have a week to trade Gutierrez, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

Emanuel, 31, has 17 2/3 big league innings under his belt, all of which came with the 2021 Astros. Houston selected him out of UNC in the third round of the 2013 draft. The 6’4″ lefty impressed in his first MLB cup of coffee, posting a 2.55 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate, a 5.9% walk rate and a sizable 50% grounder rate. A UCL injury led to surgery in the summer of 2021. He didn’t require a full Tommy John procedure but had an internal brace surgery that wiped out the rest of that ’21 season.

Because he had the less invasive UCL operation, Emanuel was back on the mound for 58 1/3 minor league innings in 2022. He pitched well (2.64 ERA, 52-to-8 K/BB ratio) but didn’t get a look in the big leagues. He spent the 2023 season in the Pirates organization and posted solid K-BB marks but an ugly 6.12 ERA, working primarily as a starter, due in part to a sky-high .370 average on balls in play and some uncharacteristic susceptibility to home runs (1.39 HR/9, 18.1% HR/FB ratio).

As with Gutierrez, Emanuel will give the Marlins some more length in the ’pen — and as with Gutierrez, it could be a short stay on the MLB roster for him if he pitches multiple innings and the Fish want to get another rested arm into the bullpen.

Marlins, Kent Emanuel Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins are in agreement with left-hander Kent Emanuel on a minor league contract, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (on X). He receives a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training.

A North Carolina product, Emanuel has 10 big league games on his résumé. Those came back during the 2021 campaign, when he logged 17 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with the Astros. That year was cut short in June by a UCL injury that required surgical repair. Emanuel hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since then, largely because of injuries.

Houston waived him at the end of the ’21 campaign. He landed in Philadelphia via claim but opened the next year on the injured list as he worked back from the elbow procedure. Emanuel suffered a shoulder injury late in 2022 while pitching in the minors. Philadelphia let him go at the end of the year without getting him into a major league game.

The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Pirates a year ago. He started 13 of 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Indianapolis. Emanuel posted a lackluster 6.19 ERA over 84 1/3 innings, running a slightly below-average 20.1% strikeout rate in the process. Pittsburgh released him in August.

Miami could give Emanuel a look as rotation or long relief depth in camp. He’s likely to start the season with Triple-A Jacksonville. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Fish could move him between Miami and Jacksonville if he pitches well enough to earn a 40-man roster spot.

Pirates Sign Kent Emanuel To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have signed left-hander Kent Emanuel to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He will presumably be invited to major league Spring Training.

Emanuel, 31 in June, was a third round pick of the Astros back in 2013. Though he came up as a starter, he was gradually shifted into spending more time in the bullpen, which led to a solid 3.90 ERA in Triple-A in 2019. He was given a spot on the 40-man roster at the end of that season to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency.

The few seasons since getting that roster spot have been tumultuous, however. He received an 80-game suspension in 2020 after testing positive for the banned substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, though he expressed bewilderment at that fact. In 2021, he was able to make his major league debut by tossing 17 2/3 innings over 10 appearances with a 2.55 ERA, but then was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

Though he required the internal brace procedure instead of the more common Tommy John surgery, he was still facing an extended absence. He was put on waivers at the end of the season and claimed by the Phillies. He spent all of 2022 in the minors, first on a rehab assignment and then an optional assignment. The Phillies tried converting him back to starting, as he made 13 starts in the minors last year, tossing 58 innings with a 2.64 ERA. But he was placed on the IL in September with a shoulder strain and then outrighted in November.

It’s unclear if the Pirates plan to deploy Emanuel as a starter or move him back to the bullpen. Either way, he’ll provide some non-roster depth to a pitching staff with some uncertainty. The rotation will likely consist of Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, JT Brubaker, Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez, but the latter two are on one-year deals and could become midsummer trade candidates if the Bucs are out of contention. In terms of left-handed relief, the only two options on the 40-man roster are Jarlín García and Rule 5 draftee Jose Hernandez.

Emanuel will look to work his way onto the roster alongside other invitees like Caleb Smith, Ángel Perdomo, Rob Zastryzny and Daniel Zamora. If he does earn a spot, he still has an option year and plenty of affordable control, with still between one and two years of service time.

Phillies Claim Luis Ortiz, Andrew Vasquez From Giants

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The Phillies announced that they have claimed two relievers off waivers from the Giants. Right-hander Luis Ortiz and left-hander Andrew Vasquez will jump to Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Phillies also outrighted five players: right-handers Mark Appel and Hans Crouse, lefties Kent Emanuel and Damon Jones, along with infielder Yairo Munoz.

Ortiz, 27, spent a few years with the Orioles but signed a minor league deal with the Giants for 2022. A highly-touted prospect from his time with the O’s, he’s dealt with some injuries and been pushed from starting to relieving as time has gone on. He spent most of 2022 in Triple-A, throwing 67 1/3 innings with a 4.54 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His peripherals were quite strong, as he struck out 25.4% of batters faced, walking just 4.6% of them and getting grounders on 42.4% of balls in play. He also got 8 2/3 innings of MLB action, with a 1.04 ERA in that small sample. He still has options remaining, meaning the Phillies will have the ability to keep him in the minors as a depth arm.

Vasquez set a career high with 10 MLB games this year, splitting that time between the Blue Jays and Giants. He allowed six runs in 8 2/3 innings but he posted a 2.23 ERA over 32 1/3 Triple-A innings. The southpaw struck out almost 35% of opponents at the minors’ highest level, making him of appeal to a number of teams on the waiver wire.

Appel made his big league debut almost a decade after being selected first overall in the 2013 draft. He worked 10 1/3 innings over six relief appearances but ended the year on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Crouse was a former highly-regarded pitching prospect who came over from the Rangers in the Kyle Gibson/Spencer Howard trade. He debuted with two appearances last year but only pitched five times in Triple-A in 2022.

Jones is a former 18th-rounder who has five appearances in the last two years. Emanuel joined the organization off waivers from the Astros last winter but never pitched with Philadelphia. Munoz played in 29 games this year, hitting .221/.250/.404.

Munoz, Emanuel and Appel can become minor league free agents. Crouse and Jones will remain in the system without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

Phillies Claim Tayler Scott From Padres

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The Phillies announced that they have claimed right-hander Tayler Scott off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A. To create room on their 40-man roster, the Phillies recalled left-hander Kent Emanuel from Lehigh Valley and placed him on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain.

Scott, 30, spent 2020 and 2021 with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He came back to North America for 2022, signing a minor league deal with the Padres. He had his contract selected in July and has thrown 12 innings for the big league club, though with a disappointing 6.75 ERA. He’s been much better in Triple-A, however, with a 3.76 ERA through 40 2/3 innings. That’s come with strong strikeout and walk rates of 30.4% and 6.4%, respectively. He’ll provide the Phils with an optionable depth arm, though he won’t be eligible for the postseason since he wasn’t in the organization prior to September 1.

In order to clear a roster spot for Scott, the Phillies have officially ended the season of Emanuel, who hasn’t pitched since the end of August. By recalling him and placing him on the 60-day IL, the club opens up a roster spot for Scott, though they will now be paying Emanuel a major league salary for the final three weeks of the season. Emanuel will also collect service time during that stretch. Claimed from the Astros in November, the lefty was also placed on the 60-day IL to begin the year due to an elbow impingement. Though he eventually returned to the hill in the minors, he was only able to make 13 starts in between his ailments. He registered a 2.55 ERA in that time with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

Phillies Designate Sam Clay For Assignment

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The Phillies announced that left-hander Kent Emanuel has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To create room on the 40-man roster, fellow lefty Sam Clay has been designated for assignment.

Drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 2014, Clay eventually reached minor league free agency at the end of the 2020 season without ever getting selected to the big league team. However, the Nationals liked him enough that they gave him a major league deal a couple of weeks later.

The Nats were likely hoping for better results than they got, as Clay put up a 5.60 ERA over 45 MLB innings last year. That came with a 15.9% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate, both of those numbers being worse than typical averages and Clay’s own track record in the minors. He did continue inducing ground balls, though, getting them at a 60.1% rate.

This year, it’s been a mixed bag for the 29-year-old, as he has a bloated 10.38 ERA in the big leagues, but in a tiny sample of just 4 1/3 innings. In 20 1/3 Triple-A frames, it’s a 3.10 ERA with a 64.5% ground ball rate, 21.7% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.

This is the second DFA for Clay in the past week, as he was just cut from Washington’s roster and claimed by the Phillies in recent days. The Phillies likely knew that Emanuel was nearing a return from the injured list, making it possible that they claimed Clay with the express purpose of trying to pass him through waivers and retaining his services but without him taking up a roster spot. Regardless of their intentions, they will have one week to work out a trade, pass Clay through waivers or release him.

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