The Marlins announced today that they have designated right-hander Vin Mazzaro for assignment. The move creates space on the roster for fellow righty Jarred Cosart to be activated from the disabled list.
Mazzaro, 28, was a key member of the Pirates’ bullpen in 2013, working to a 2.81 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 73 2/3 innings that season, but he still found himself as the odd man out the following Spring Training as an out-of-options reliever with a marginal strikeout rate. Many expected him to be traded or claimed off waivers after being designated for assignment, but Mazzaro cleared and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.
Mazzaro never received a lengthy look with the Bucs in 2014, and he was outrighted again later on that season, accepting the assignment for a second time. He elected free agency at the end of the year, however, and inked a minors pact with Miami this winter. Mazzaro has again performed well between Triple-A and the Majors, so it’s conceivable that a team will have some interest in making a minor trade or picking him up on waivers.
You could do a lot worse for the last guy in your bullpen. In fact, many teams are doing a lot worse there…
That’s sad. Big Inn Vin is the definition of a AAA starter. That does have it’s value though. I see Philly roll out Sean O’Sullivan every 5 days. Someone has to throw those innings on a second division club.
The braves need bullpen help badly
I wish there was a metric that could assess player baseball instinct. The one thing I’ve noted….and it’s backed up by those in the Braves and Rockies pro scouting depts. Is that baseball instinct is waning as compared to a generation ago. The ability to read balls off bats…the knowledge of when an extra base can be take….just pure baseball iq. It’s easy to spot often in an MLB game…just poor in play decision making.