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Nick Margevicius

Mariners Claim Nick Margevicius

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The Mariners have claimed lefty Nick Margevicius off waivers from the Padres, per a club announcement. Right-hander Reggie McClain was designated for assignment to create roster space.

Margevicius was designated for assignment recently by the Friars. This move officially ends a rather unusual run through the San Diego system.

A seventh-round choice in the 2017 draft, Margevicius lept from High-A to the majors early in the 2019 season — only to end up in DFA limbo after the close of the campaign. Had he not been utilized in the majors last year, Margevicius wouldn’t have added to the team’s 40-man roster pressures.

Presumably, the Pads felt they got enough of a look at the soft-tossing 23-year-old to shrug off his loss. Margevicius certainly wasn’t ready for prime time, as he managed only a 6.79 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 19 walks in his first 57 MLB innings (over a dozen starts and five relief appearances). But he was better in his dozen Double-A outings, where he worked to a 4.30 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.

As for McClain, he’s also off the MLB roster after debuting in 2019. He mustered an ugly 11:13 K/BB ratio in 21 innings in the bigs but did produce a hefty 64.8% groundball rate. The 27-year-old was much more effective in the minors, compiling 72 2/3 innings of 2.23 ERA ball over stints at the High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels.

Padres Designate Nick Margevicius For Assignment

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The Padres announced today they have designated left-hander Nick Margevicius for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster was needed for the re-signing of reliever Craig Stammen.

Margevicius surprisingly won a spot in the Friars’ rotation last spring. Unfortunately, he failed to stake much of a claim to it thereafter, managing only a 6.79 ERA across 57 MLB innings. He never worked more than six innings in a start and was bumped from the active roster by mid-May. Margevicius returned to the majors later in the season as an opener/reliever, but he continued to start for Double-A Amarillo after being optioned. He fared a bit better there, working to a 4.30 ERA in the Texas League, although it wasn’t quite at the level of his prior minor-league work.

The soft-tossing lefty has never generated many strikeouts. That carried over to the big leagues, where he mustered just a 16% strikeout rate. He’s always had a penchant for throwing strikes, though, and a 62.7% strand rate in the majors surely contributed to his bloated ERA.

Margevicius is only 23 and comes with two remaining option years. Perhaps some team seeking starting pitching depth will take a flyer on him. Wherever he lands, he’ll look to do a better job keeping the ball in the yard after a difficult season on that front.

Padres Option Nick Margevicius, Recall Cal Quantrill

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The Padres have optioned left-hander Nick Margevicius to Double-A Amarillo and sent reliever Gerardo Reyes to Triple-A El Paso, per a team announcement. To take their roster spots in San Diego, the club recalled righty Cal Quantrill from El Paso and reinstated reliever Trey Wingenter from the 10-day injured list.

The Margevicius demotion ends his run in the Padres’ starting staff, at least for now. Although the 22-year-old is not a top prospect and had never pitched above the High-A level entering the season, he spent the first month and a half of 2019 in the Friars’ rotation. The returns were great at first, but the soft-tossing Margevicius has gone into a tailspin since mid-April. In his most recent start, a 7-2 loss to the Pirates on Saturday, he yielded six earned runs on eight hits (including four homers) in four innings. Margevicius now carries a 4.96 ERA/6.00 FIP with 6.55 K/9, 2.98 BB/9, a 43.4 percent groundball rate and a 21.2 percent HR-to-fly ball rate over 45 1/3 major league frames.

Margevicius’ struggles have opened the door for Quantrill, who will have a chance to make a case for a starting job. The promising prospect, 24, will take the ball Sunday for his third start of the season. He could eventually hand the ball off to Wingenter, who got off to an effective start this year before right shoulder inflammation forced him to the shelf two weeks ago.

Padres Select Nick Margevicius

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Per a team release, the Padres have selected lefty Nick Margevicius to the 40-man roster and designated OF Socrates Brito for assignment.

Margevicius, 22, has yet to throw a pitch above the High-A level, but he’ll start tonight at home for the Padres against San Francisco. The 2017 7th rounder out of New Jersey’s Rider University stands 6’5 and, per ESPN’s Keith Law, features a plus curveball with “huge spin.” His fastball, graded as “fringe-average” per Law, worked at 88-91 MPH prior to ’17 draft according to Baseball America. Margevicius didn’t crack the deep system’s top 30 prospects at either MLB.com or BA despite outstanding K/BB ratios at both low-A Fort Wayne and high-A Lake Elsinore last season.

It’s a surprise move for San Diego, who’ll slip Margevicius into the rotation’s third slot for the time being, ahead of higher-profile, more-experienced young arms like Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill, and Michel Baez. Perhaps the brass feels as if the lefty has relatively little projection left, at least compared to the aforementioned names, or simply views the southpaw in a more favorable light than the industry consensus.

Brito, 26, was claimed Wednesday from Arizona after a solid (.318/.383/.540) line for AAA-Reno last season. He didn’t figure to have a place in a crowded Padre outfield mix, but the lefty has at times flashed an intriguing skillset.

Padres Designate Bryan Mitchell, Expected To Promote Nick Margevicius

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10:59am: The Friars have a surprising plan in place for one aspect of their early-season roster maneuvering. They’ll promote young lefty Nick Margevicius to start Saturday’s game, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).

Margevicius, a 2017 seventh-round draft pick, has not pitched above the High-A level.

10:37am: As expected, the Padres announced today that they have selected the contract of top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. To open roster space, the club designated righty Bryan Mitchell for assignment.

While the Tatis promotion was already known, the decision to drop Mitchell is rather fascinating. The righty had seemed in line for a rotation spot despite an ugly spring showing. Instead, the Friars will carry six outfielders on their initial roster after claiming Socrates Brito yesterday.

Clearly, something has to give. It seems that the organization is opening with an unbalanced roster alignment in order to hang onto resources. Some early-season transactions seem all but inevitable; whether that’ll involve an outside acquisition or internal promotion remains to be seen.

It seems likely that Mitchell will end up clearing waivers and remaining in the organization, so this may not be the end of the line for him. But the move still represents an acknowledgement that things haven’t worked out as hoped. The San Diego organization effectively purchased his rights in a swap last winter from the Yankees, but Mitchell coughed up 44 earned runs and carried a brutal 38:43 K/BB ratio in 73 MLB frames in 2018.

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