2:55pm: The Marlins have announced the trade, revealing that they’ll acquire fellow righty Jordan Milbrath from Cleveland in the deal.
Milbrath, 27, reached Triple-A for the first time last season but was hit hard in a small sample of 13 2/3 innings. He spent the bulk of the season in Double-A, where he notched a 3.42 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a gaudy 60.9 percent ground-ball rate. Milbrath’s ground-ball rate has exploded over the past two seasons — he was north of 70 percent in 2017 — though his success to date has come against younger competition. He’ll turn 28 on Aug. 1, making him a bit too old to be considered a “prospect,” perhaps, though his ground-ball tendencies still make him an intriguing bullpen candidate for the Marlins.
1:50pm: The Indians have reached a deal to acquire right-handed reliever Nick Wittgren from the Marlins, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Cleveland will send a minor league pitcher to Miami in return.
Wittgren, 27, was somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment by the Marlins last week. On the surface, the righty pitched quite well, working to a 2.94 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.27 HR/9 and a career-best 46 percent ground-ball rate in 33 2/3 innings for the Fish. It’s unlikely that he’d be able to replicate the good fortune he had in terms of allowing home runs (one allowed; 2.7 percent homer-to-fly ball ratio), however, and the four walks he averaged on a per-nine-inning basis was the highest mark of his career.
Nonetheless, Wittgren has a career 3.60 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 127 2/3 of big league relief and still has a minor league option remaining, so the Indians will be able to shuttle him back and forth between Cleveland and their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus this season if need be. Wittgren doesn’t throw especially hard, averaging a bit better than 92 mph on his heater, and he doesn’t generate gaudy spin rate totals. However, he’s still managed solid results to this point in his career and represents a sensible addition for a Cleveland club that is facing enormous uncertainty in the bullpen while also navigating payroll concerns.
Good move by the Indians their bullpen is still a mess but Wittgren will help some and its a good landing spot as he’ll get plenty of chances in high leverage spots. I don’t understand why the Marlins dumped him.
On the surface, the righty pitched quite well ??? … The 4.0 BB/9 is NOT good
BB/9 is not a surface stat
Plus his ground ball rate is pretty good so he may be able to offset the high walk with a high ground ball percentage.
Yet the guy they gave up is better at getting ground balls. Guess we will get to see whose scouts know more.
In AA at age 27. If he makes it good for him but wittgren has likely done more at the big league level than this guy will.
Hopefully Elijah Morgan is the one coming back in the deal. I got to see him pitch in 2015 when he was with Gonzaga, very impressive.
I’m glad to see someone knows “another pipeline” well enough to have a minor-league trade preference.
Here’s for more of that.
I would be disappointed if it were Morgan, although if I were the fish, I would ask. He will be a major leaguer, some day.
Seems like an overpay to me
Eli Morgan would have been a significant overpay for a guy in DFA limbo. I personally think he’s the most underrated prospect in their whole system.
I continually voted for him in a Top-20 poll on Let’s Go Tribe, but nobody was giving him props. I see him being a #4-5 starter eventually for the Tribe.
I definitely agree; I don’t know if it’s because he’s not very tall that people don’t give him a lot of attention, but the guy can really pitch
Jordan Milbrath is going to Miami in trade.
Andrew Miller replacement
Not that much going back.
Quite a few teams could have matched or exceeded that without sweating it.
“He’ll turn 28 on Aug. 1, making him a bit too old to be considered a “prospect,”
Not in the Indians organization. The local media calls them youngsters until they’re 30.
For what it’s worth, I commented in an article here saying I’d want the Indians to add at least one more reliever and I mentioned Wittgren and Jake Barrett as examples.
No one will care that I said it, but this is the type of move I wanted them to make.
I remember you making that comment. Good call, MC.
trading sore armed pitchers is what we called it back in the day…
Reported:
The Indians sent minor league right-hander Jordan Milbrath to the Marlins in the the deal.
The 6-6 Malbrath pitched at Class AA Akron and Class AAA Columbus last year. He went 3-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 43 games. He struck out 61 and walked 29 in 63 2/3 innings. He was the Tribes 35th round pick in 2013.
So, the marlins traded away one AAAA reliever for a slightly worse AAAA reliever? I don’t see what the fish serve to gain here.
Sometimes players benefit from a different coach helping them. Happens all the time. Milbrath looked close with the Indians. The Padres drafted him in the Rule 5 draft, but sent him back late in spring training, as I recall. A few new ideas and who knows? Maybe he helps you.
We are hoping for the same with Wittgren.
Wittgren needs to hang around and pick the brains of the starters, especially Bauer. He can learn a lot that way.
I think it was the Pirates, but yeah you hit the nail right on the head otherwise
Andrew Heaney’s twin brother?
If I’m the Indians, I really like getting a usable bullpen piece for a might-be-usable bullpen piece.
Surprised mia dfad him with an option left and being a 27 year old reliever. He was one of the only arms in their pen last year that could be counted on also.
Inexplicable move for the pitching-starved Fish.
3.50 career era and the fish dfa him. What am I missing?