10:15am: Maybin will earn $3.25MM for the coming season, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The deal includes up to $750K in plate appearance-based incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
8:00am: The Marlins have announced the signing of outfielder Cameron Maybin, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel first reported (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, MLB deal for the Excel Sports Management client, though salary terms remain unknown.
Maybin, 30, will help fill out a Miami outfield mix that was drastically altered with a series of offseason moves. Stars Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, and Christian Yelich were all dealt away, while reserve Ichiro Suzuki departed via free agency.
Those deals did return some younger options, though perhaps only Lewis Brinson is fully prepared for his first full attempt at the major-league level. Otherwise, Magneuris Sierra and Braxton Lee are the only other outfielders currently holding down spots on the 40-man roster.
Expectations for Maybin won’t be too lofty, but he could function as a solid-average, semi-regular player. His strong 2016 season at the plate — .315/.383/.418 — stands out as a bit of an outlier and was no doubt aided by a .383 batting average on balls in play. Perhaps it’s reasonable to expect something that looks more like his 2017 season, which was split between the Angels and Astros. In 450 plate appearances, Maybin slashed .228/.318/.365 with ten home runs and 33 steals while also grading out as a high-end overall baserunner and solid defender.
Adding some veterans to the Marlins outfield unit clearly makes good sense; indeed, it seems reasonable to wonder whether yet further acquisitions could take place. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro suggests (Twitter link) that Derek Dietrich is likely to see action in left field. Whether or not Brinson is ultimately utilized out of the gates, he’ll be expected to carry a major load in center, with Maybin representing the other possibility up the middle.
Beyond that, though, there still seems to be quite a lot of uncertainty. Minor-league signees Scott Van Slyke, J.B. Shuck, and Rafael Ortega will battle for jobs in camp. Sierra and Lee could as well, though both are rather thin on upper-level experience. Veterans Garrett Cooper and Martin Prado may conceivably see time on the grass, though all have spent the bulk of their careers in the infield. And the organization no doubt hopes that prospect Monte Harrison will force his way into the majors before too long.
This move is the latest for a player who carries an interesting transactional history. It’ll be Maybin’s second stint with the Fish, as he played for the then-Florida Marlins between 2008 and 2010. A former first-round pick of the Tigers, Maybin was shipped to Miami as part of the Miguel Cabrera trade. He was then passed on to the Padres in a deal that sent Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb to the Marlins. After inking an extension with the Friars and then falling out of favor, Maybin ended up moving to the Braves as part of the (first) Craig Kimbrel swap. A second run in Detroit came after a trade with the Braves; the Tigers then shipped Maybin to the Angels, who allowed him to go to the Astros in a surprising August 31st waiver claim last year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Full circle
Full circle was when he went back to Detroit two years ago.
I loved him Detroit, well the second time. Dude was a lightning rod, unfortunately he couldn’t stay healthy.
The circle keep growing
Why just why. Also why didn’t Houston resign him
He is an all star candidate on the Marlins if they trade off JT and is a guaranteed starter. Pretty easy to see the appeal for him.
He could be an all-star, but about years after The Marlins thought he could make an impact with them.
They gave up quickly and traded him to the padres where he was supposed to be a star but dealt with injuries and spent time suspended
Maybe Miami offered him a major league deal and/or an everyday role
Because Houston has Marwin Gonzalez, Jake Marisnick, and young players like Derek Fisher, and top prospect Kyle Tucker, who all can play outfield. Plus, he’ll get regular playing time in Miami, and will get trade to a contender by the deadline.
Tony Kemp gets a shot soon I believe as a super utility type guy as well.
Tony Kemp is really the most MLB ready LF in the astros farm
So, that leaves the Pirates as the only MLB team not to sign a major league free agent. And Nutting and Huntington say they wanna win a World Series. L-O-F*cking-L
Yes, but they got Bryce Brentz from the Red Sox. So you got that going for you which is nice.
Ha
Isn’t Bryce Brentz the guy who Plaxidentally shot himself in the leg?
…you think the Pirates are a free agent away from the World Series?
Did I say that? But instead of Daniel Nava and Bryce Brentz, Pirates could sign CarGo to a 1 yr deal and let Meadows develop. But of course they go the cheap route. Payroll is down $20mil plus $50mil of BAM Tech. Right into Nutting’s pocket.
Sign Cargo? For how much. His road splits are terrible. He probably would stink and be expensive. Not a good signing
Not only should the Pirates not do that, I can’t see Gonzalez wanting to do that. I think he might value himself more highly than just as a placeholder until a prospect is ready. I’m not saying whether that’s right or wrong; I just can’t see him taking a 1 year “make good” offer from any team until he “has” to.
Well, as March approaches, it looks like he may “have to” pretty soon .
Which was evidently 4 hours after his comment. That said, I understand your point.
Spring training has already started. He is not on a team. I kinda think he “has to.”
I think he’s just saying how it’s funny when Huntington says he wants to/thinks he can compete. But I’d just like them to do something that isn’t a minor league deal.
This I agree with completely. There aren’t too many free agents out there who I am dying for them to pick up, but they are still woefully thin at some positions, and it’s just not a good look to keep skimping in talent like this.
So the Pirates should sign who? Arrieta? Or who? Then they are contenders? I think not.
The Pirates want to win a world series. Just throwing money away is not the plan. They are building something
Nutting himself stated several months ago that the Pirates would be both buyers and sellers. They’ve sold, and their actions indicate they’re at least retooling, but Nutting never recanted that comment. Not splitting hairs here, but the owner shouldn’t make claims he had no intention of following through on.
tell me, when did the buying period end?
From World Series champion role player to the Man in Miami!
Welcome Back
Does Jeter know that they’ll have to pay him at least 545k?
I thought it was $575k but I guess the Marlins could swing it. Lol
They’ll only be on the hook for half of that when he’s traded.
Maybin will get a lot of playing time all across the grass. He won’t be outstanding, but Maybin could be decent enough to be in demand as a trade piece later in the season. Good signing by the Marlins.
This maybin one of the most obvious signings to come this off season once the marlins tore down their of.
Best way to play meaningful baseball in August/September sign with the Marlins. You know you will be traded by the deadline to a team at least in contention
That’s what Prado thought.
Our new CF and leadoff hitter. Brinson should play right with Dietrich in Left. Maybe start Sierra in AAA to preserve some of his service time.
So does this mean the Marlins are gonna acquire Justin Upton next year? haha
As a braves fan, I’m truly happy watching the meltdown the marlins are having. They go through this process every few years. Honestly, the returns they have gotten from trading big names hasn’t exactly been awesome. I mean, each return is good enough to keep marlins fans from jumping off bridges
There’s more bridges in Miami than fans
To say Brinson is big league ready is LOL funny. He’s hit over .260 one time in his entire career, and it’s when he was 7,000 feet above sea level. Won’t hit his weight in the big leagues this year. Guaranteed.
So he’s no longer in Milwaukee so now he’s not a stud, funny how opinions change for fans depending on what team a player is on.
.260 what stats are you looking at? He hit .331 in the minors last year alone, are you only looking at his cup of coffee in the Majors? Brinson will be fine just needs a little more seasoning.
His cup of coffee consisted of hitting .100– that .331 was in Colorado Springs where you could hit .260 mate. He was hitting .237 in AA then goes up to AAA and hits .382!???. Do you ever wonder how? Have you ever looked at a box score from Colorado Springs? The place is a launching pad. He will hit .202 in the big leagues and .260 in New Orleans. Watch pal.
You have no clue what the concept of park/altitude effect is. It certainly isn’t worth 100 plus points of batting average.
And as far as slow career starts, Mike Schmidt hit .197 over his first 500 plate appearances. How did his career end up? Only someone who knows nothing about baseball would write off a guy after only 55 plate appearances. Especially someone who is only 23 years old like Brinson.
You’re kidding right? Why don’t you go look at every players split stats home and away from Colorado Springs last year genius. Some are well over 100 points. I know exactly what the altitude does. It adds nearly 30 feet to every ball hit. It’s called science. Read a book.
Brinson hit .279 on the road. In the PCL. playing in salt lake. Albuquerque. El Paso. Vegas. Reno. All extremely hitter friendly. And he hit .374 at home. That’s a difference of 95 points genius.
Did I write him off? No. I simply said he’s not big league ready. He needs a full year of AAA before he’ll be ready to produce anything above 220
“He will hit .202 in the big leagues and .260 in New Orleans.”
Not writing him off, eh?
Has as many at bats in AA as he does in AAA. He’s not ready. He doesn’t hit the ball the other way. He steps in the bucket. He gets beat by big league pitching. Facts. Maybe after a full season in New Orleans he’ll make some adjustments and be ready in 2019.
Not to mention his defense was proven awful.
Why would he leave. He just won the world series. And if you’re gonna leave go to a team thats not gonna trade you in July. I get it. He wants to play everyday. The marlins couldn’t have been a worse place for him.
Are we sure Houston wanted him back? Miami might have been the only team to offer him a major-league contract for all we know. Houston has some young talent they want to make room for.
he wants to play every day and you still think it’s bad???
Lighten up
Great move. Can easily be traded at the deadline for a prospect if need be. Regular playing time in mia should only help him.
Next year he can sign with the Padres and set some kind of record for most times returning to a previous team
Can somebody please sign ichiro
Why? He has nothing left in the tank.
That’s what they said about Dan Uggla and … never mind
This guy maybin stinks he cost the angels so many games the guy falls asleep in the outfield.And is so inconsistent the angels got a box of baseballs for him in trade !!! He’s a joke.
Well, they had to throw somebody out there. I’m surprised they didn’t petition the league to only start 1 OF. Think of the savings! Damn CBA, insisting on 25 whole players per ML roster….
Paul Wilson was actually the number 1 overall pick in 94. He hasn’t played professionally since ’05 so it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the clubhouse in terms of veteran leadership.
Miami should add Bautista and Melky, 2 veterans that can add contact and power to the lineup, also experience for the upcoming kids. We traded 3 All Star OFs, at least spend some of that money on veterans, known faces around the league that can get some people to the stadium and not look as bad as we look now.