8:44am: Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill announced to reporters that Straily has been released by the organization (Twitter link via Joe Frisaro of MLB.com). Mish tweets that Straily is going on release waivers today, meaning he’ll become a free agent if he clears on Wednesday at 1pm ET. Assuming that happens, he’ll receive the aforementioned 45 days’ termination pay and can can sign with any club for any amount of money (on top of that termination pay from Miami).
7:52am: In a fairly surprising move, the Marlins have designated right-hander Dan Straily for assignment, according to Craig Mish of SiriusXM (all Twitter links). The Marlins will now have a week to trade him or release him. Left-hander Caleb Smith has made the Marlins’ Opening Day rotation in what was expected to be Straily’s spot, Mish adds.
Straily, 30, was acquired from the Reds in a January 2017 trade that cost the Marlins right-hander Luis Castillo (along with the since-reacquired righty Austin Brice and minor league outfielder Zeek White). Straily made 33 starts for Miami in his first year with the club and tallied another 23 starts for the Fish in a 2018 season that was slowed a bit by a forearm strain early in the year. In all, he gave the Marlins 304 innings of 4.20 ERA ball with averages of 8.0 strikeouts, 3.3 walks and 1.5 homers allowed per nine innings pitched.
On the heels of that output, Miami and Straily agreed to a $5MM salary earlier this winter, avoiding arbitration in the process. Today’s DFA will save the Marlins about $3.8MM of that $5MM sum, as even if Straily is released, the organization would only owe him 45 days’ termination pay (roughly $1.2MM). Ultimately, those cost savings were surely at the heart of the move. There’s little doubt that Straily is a better option for the Miami pitching staff than fellow veteran Wei-Yin Chen, but Miami will retain Chen and his fully guaranteed $20MM salary and instead part ways with a veteran arm whose salary was only partially guaranteed.
Miami has reportedly been exploring trades for Straily all offseason, including prior to tendering him at that $5MM rate, but without any success. As such, it may be difficult for them to find a partner in the coming days, though perhaps a club with injury issues in its rotation will have some interest — if not via trade then via straight waiver claim. Straily did rank in the 70th percentile of MLB pitchers in terms of fastball spin and in the 80th percentile in terms of curveball spin, so he could hold particular appeal to clubs that emphasize spin rate. If he goes unclaimed, Straily will become a free agent who is eligible to sign with any club for any amount of money while still pocketing the $1.2MM owed to him by Miami.
As for the Marlins, they’ll now trot out a younger rotation consisting of Jose Urena, Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara and Smith, with Chen lined up as the long man in the bullpen. Elieser Hernandez, Jeff Brigham and Jordan Yamamoto are all on the 40-man roster as depth options.
Developmentally speaking, one can hardly fault the rebuilding Marlins for wanting to give as many of their growing stable of arms an opportunity as possible, though the fact that doing so now means paying a reasonably useful Major League arm to pitch somewhere else is hardly ideal. The truly questionable element of the whole equation will be the decision to tender Straily in the first place a youth movement was always the preferred route for the rotation. Presumably, though, when that decision was due in early December, Miami still had confidence in its ability to find a trade partner.
The Castillo trade keeps getting worse lolMarlins. I guess Strailly ends up in Oakland.
It could have been way worse
He will be a brave in 3….2…1…never.
Braves suck. Now, their team on the 90s was a thing of pure beauty
Marlins must be trying to tank to get a high draft pick next year.
Yeah. They will need some talent to trade away in 5 years when they break apart another barely .500 team.
300 innings of pitching almost similar to Castillo. Not the worst trade, but not a good one either.
Padres are in dire need of a starter. Currently they have no starters with a full season of MLB experience.
Despicable. Hope he’s claimed.
What’s despicable about it?
No one says is despicable that Chen will rot in the bullpen while making $20MM…it goes both ways…it’s a business that us fans, do not get all the time.
They’ve tied Straily to some train tracks Snidely Whiplash-style until he is claimed.
I know where you and I would like to see him end up wk !
How is it “despicable”? Please provide reasons for otherwise.
He can’t because haters don’t actually follow the team.
Now for Straily this is as bad as it gets.. like getting cut from the 16 browns
“He can’t because haters don’t actually follow the team.
Now for Straily this is as bad as it gets.. like getting cut from the 16 browns”
Not really. He still pockets $1.2 million termination pay and should be able to secure 4th or 5th starter money on the open market. Individuals with the kind of stat line (below) usually find a home.
304 innings of 4.20 ERA ball with averages of 8.0 strikeouts, 3.3 walks and 1.5 homers allowed per nine innings pitched.
Yeah, I expect he finds about $2.5 million somewhere like Texas.
Have you been asleep during the last two off-seasons?
Beyond the money their young arms were strong this spring. It’ll be fun to see if they can grow and improve during the season. That Chen contract is so painful.
Got nothing for him. What a crap franchise. I feel bad for Miami fans, always getting pooped on.
I’m guessing a lot of fans would gladly take two rings in the last 25 years.
You are still bringing up World Series wins from a long time ago.
Haha so jealous you got a ring when ivan rodgriguez was still playing.. oh so jealous
Shhh, don’t tell raider fans that
I bet Cleveland, Texas , Washington/Montreal, LA dodgers, Mets ,braves , pirates , brewers, reds ,Rockies,padres ,blue jays , orioles, rays, tigers , twins, a’s , mariners fans would all like to claim even one in that time frame . You think?
True that..
I’m a Rockies fan and I am a LOT happier they have not fleeced their fans like the Marlins. Winning is not everything.
Yeah they got two but they should have had more and you know those wins were in spite of how rotten the front office was. Now the front office issues continue. They can sign international guys and sign guys to bad deals. I’ll give them that.
eh? Interesting fact! The Marlins have never won their division!
They’ve only been to the playoffs twice in their entire existence. They were wild cards both times and they won the whole thing. And those were the only 2 seasons where they won more than 87 games. So, while I’m sure many fans would love to have won 2 titles in the last 25 years, the Marlins haven’t been exactly a competitive, well-run franchise.
Now look at the Dodgers. They haven’t won since 88, but in the last 11 years they’ve been in the playoffs 8 times and the NLCS 6 times.
I’d wager that most Dodger fans and many other sufferers of long title droughts would rather stay fans of a competitive team than missing the playoffs for the last 15 years and the foreseeable future.
What do Dolphin or Hurricane fans have to do with this article?
I’ll bet they get something for him, multiple clubs should claim him.
LOL, I was wrong.
Yes and insulting the franchise really helps those fans you feel so sorry for. Btw… not a Marlins fan.
Both of them
Seemed to be a lot of trade chatter around Strailey for the past 2 years. They had zero reason to not trade him. This one definitely bit them when they could have gotten some value for him.
Silly franchise, they need to go to the minor leagues.
There’s still a chance he gets traded. Sometimes the DFA announcement is just a way to let the rest of the league know a player is available. And teams who don’t think he’ll last until their claim can and do make trade offers…
If other teams have to wait until a player is designated to learn of the player’s availability, then the GM/front office is not doing his/her job.
Other teams know the baseball operation and knew Marlins wanted to move him. Teams do not avoid available players to see if they end up being designated, and would have negotiated in similar grounds
Yeah what a crap franchise. Win two World Series where legit 10 teams have never won 1.
Correction: bought two titles, then pissed on their fans and broke the teams up.
A Mets fan with a Mariners logo?
Admit it, you’d die if either of those teams were intelligent enough to buy a championship.
yeah they really bought that 2nd title when their core roster consisted of D Lee, Wllis, Lowell, Cabrera, Penny, Beckett, Castillo, Gonzalez, Pierre. They acquired Conine @ the deadline and signed Pudge Rodriguez. The core of that roster was acquired from the first fire sale and later trades. That’s far from being “bought”
If a team hasn’t anything good since 2003, it’s a crap franchise.
You can’t associate over 10 years since legitimate contention and different ownership/front office as same.
This group has failed in many aspects, including restocking system with amount of talent they traded away (even not factoring in Stanton). This group slashed payroll and operation has not shown anything in results to provide hope for their fans yet.
He’ll find a job by opening day… Good starter .. Look for Oakland , Tampa and NYY to be after him.
wouldn’t be surprised if the Orioles show some interest. They could use him thus year.
I wish the Pirates would consider Straily over Lyles, Brault, or Kingham. It’s going to be painful to watch that #5 start. Straily I think would be a better option in the 5th slot and moving Lyles to the bullpen. But, Lyles seems to be the Pirates “lightening in the bottle” this year.
Agreed! I don’t know why Lyles was given the inside track by Neal. I think Kingham has outperformed Lyles and should get the job.
I see Jeter’s hand in this just to save a little money. According to him, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the “experience“ of attending a baseball game
Oh so they Tankin Tankin
id take him over VV or Eflin
Why is Miami allowed to be in the MLB again?
Same the reason the Blue Jays are. MLB needs to get rid of a couple teams so the talent isn’t spread so thin amongst the current 30 teams.
The Castillo trade was a horrible trade when it was made. Obviously, it looks even worse now.
I get the feeling the trade for Straily was made in the wake of Jose’s passing. The team needed major league talent to fill the void and targeted Straily.
$3.8MM, or $5MM, for around 150 innings of league average pitching is generally something a team will pay for. Rebuilding or contending.
Obviously not, or else it would have happened by now.
He will be claimed quickly… your comment is based on the Marlins FO, they’ve done some highly questionable things already.
Really surprised no one tried to trade for him. He won’t make it far on the waiver wire. Few million bucks for a reliable back end starter is nothing.
Agreed. Seems like if they couldn’t trade him that they would just stick him in the rotation for $5MM for this year. Now, they get nothing and are less one decent SP… possibly a trade candidate later this year as well. Just a strange transaction for a MLB SP that has had recent track record of success.
Hard to justify this statement: “There’s little doubt that Straily is a better option for the Miami pitching staff than fellow veteran Wei-Yin Chen,” Chen has had a better FIP for each of the past five years, plus Chen is a better fit in the bullpen as a LHP.
Chen is only with the team bc he’s owed $20 milly this and next year, approx. if not Straily prob would still be around.
He was a trade deadline candidate this year anyway.
Jeter running this team about as well as he played shortstop. Just doesn’t have that NY media hype machine around him for this one.
Come on now A-Mac. New York media is just as quick to be overly critical as they are to pump a guy up. A lot to like about his playing career and certainly a hall of famer. Only thing he’s proven as an exec is he can unload salary I’ll give you that
So, how are the Marlins wrong in releasing Straily in order to clear the way for Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez, and Caleb Smith to show what they can do?
Because they have turned their major league franchise into a AAA team. It’s fine for a couple of young guys to “show what they can do.” But when the entire team does it, you have just become the New Orleans Zephyrs in new uniforms.
If you were looking for a fifth starter, you could have done worse. I’m assuming Jeter shopped him to Cashman, who instead went for Gio. That’s interesting.
I’d honestly take Straily over Gio. Cheaper and similar output.
So would I, but I wonder what the ask was for Straily. Gio only costs money, and he doesn’t cost a ton of money if he’s no good. They just won’t start him/
This is very true, and I can’t imagine it was anything more than a low-level minor leaguer.
I think we’ll see a lot of Jeter gifting his players to his old BFF Cash.
Houston could use depth if he doesn’t mind going to AAA for a stint. Solid shot at a ring but may be relegated to a bullpen role too.
Would rather have Armentaroes, Whitley or James starting than Strailey.
Likewise, but Straily is an excellent veteran bullpen arm to replace Peacock now that he’s in the rotation.
It’s almost like the marlins are a living organism, who’s DNA will always continue to have them make bad decisions… no matter who runs everything! Lol
Hey, I get wanting to roll your youth into more prominent roles. So I get this move to a point. But surely someone would have traded you for him for SOMETHING. Instead you have only a short Amt of time to coup something. Idk. I don’t think they can afford to let him go but definitely not pay him to go. Got to think someone like the A’s or an NL central team, or heck, the rangers would have loved to taken him off your hands at that price and for something like cash and player to be named later type deal. Or a decent minor league player. This wasn’t handled well
They never should have tased Castillo + for Straily. And they should’ve accepted whatever trade they declined at the deadline the last 2 seasons. Terrible mismanagement
Yeah, Castillo being tased was just wrong.
Don’t tase me bro!
Welcome back to Oakland Dan!
Why is this so surprising? Strailys FIP of 4.78 is even worse than former Marlin Volstads FIP of 4.69. Straily is not worth the money he would have to be paid. Chen is definitely not worth his salary either.
Great trade loria
Orioles
I find this move to be surprising. Straily isn’t anything special as a pitcher, but he stays healthy and eats innings. I think the Marlins could have used those innings to not overwork the young arms. If this was just to save money, it’s a stupid move. $3.5M for a starter is very little money.
The Marlins consistently fail to impress with the way they build rosters.
A 5 million dollar salary is high for an innings eater. They save 3.7 million by cutting Straily and then sign an Edwin Jackson type for 1 million to eat innings.
AA swoops in. Welcome to Cobb County!
Wonder if Jeter gave him the usual departing gift bag swag?
Marlins pull into the lead in the “race to the bottom.” Marlins season should be cancelled if they’re choosing to waive their ace just to save $3.8M. Jeter should be banned from the HOF if this is how he truly cares about the game of baseball. You ruin the game a little, you get banned from the HOF.
Marlins season should be cancelled if Dan Straily is their ace.
When they acquired him it was kind of like, “at least they’re trying.”
But he was never ever ever ever ever ever….ever their Ace.
Jose Urena just read your comment about the Marlins releasing their Ace, and he’s calling his agent to find out if the Marlins really released him. I’m sure his agent will say “No, they released Dan Straily, not you. Someone who knows nothing about the team made that comment.”
You’re exaggerating Urena’s value. Right now he is technically the ace, sure.
You gave up Luis Castillo for Straily, so you were expecting a lot.
Yeah, that was a bad trade. However, he was not the Ace of this team.
This article seems to imply or infer that the Wei-Yin Chen contract the Marlins’ ownership inherited factored into the decision for Dan Straily to be cut from the team…
He’ll be picked up the first Day he’s available. Someone got lucky.
Texas should get him to replace Hammels spot in their rotation. He might turn out to be a trade chip they can flip for a prospect before the trade deadline.
Why is everyone freaking out about this? Those who followed the Marlins this spring will understand why Straily was cut… Urena, Lopez, Richards and Smith all pitched really well. Alcantara was shaky but will be just fine. He’s proven all he can at triple A so there was no need to send him back down… yes we realize that Chen is garbage but He is in fact owed $20 million for the next two years, so it’s tough to say “let’s cut the cost on him” compared to the 3 million they’re saving here by cutting Straily, who btw, was terrible this spring. Might as well cut him and let him go try to win somewhere as a respected veteran, capable of being a really good number 5 on a contender at his peak.
I’m trying to figure out if the Marlins released an elite pitcher or Dan Straily. Based on some of the comments criticizing this move, it sounds like they released a Cy Young Award candidate that is a game changer. I keep looking for that article and news release, but I keep seeing that they released Dan Straily – not someone worthy of being criticized over when the end result is giving a chance to Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez and Caleb Smith behind Jose Urena. Why keep Straily, who has zero upside, over these other guys?
As for the Chen thing, why would the Marlins release him with 2 years owed? He is serving as a long relief to back up the kids if they need rest or falter, and there is a chance that if Chen stars in this new role and can control a game for 3 or 4 innings, that contract does not look so bad because the pay rate for guys that can do that is a lot closer to Chen’s contract. If Chen fails, he’ll be released after this season with only one year left, and no reason to let him take up a roster spot.
As for why do this after giving Straily a contract, that’s because at the time when they did it, they did not know if Lopez and Smith were healthy again or would bounce back from their injuries.
Sorry, but nothing wrong with this move by the Marlins.
Spot on bro
You’re exactly right. Straily essentially became a $1.2M (an expensive premium, no doubt), but I don’t think the Marlins expected Smith and Lopez to be as ready as they’ve shown they are. The Marlins’ rotation now has huge upside, which is something I haven’t been able to say in years. Not only that, but they have more depth than ever before. Realistically, if they need to they could call up someone like Jeff Brigham or Zac Gallen and expect as good of production as they would of Straily. So why not save the $3M?
I think perhaps the only fault you can put on the Marlins is that they weren’t ever able to trade Straily. But when a guy like Gio Gonzalez has to settle for a minor league deal, it’s clear that the market for back end starters is depressed. It’s easy to say in retrospect that the Marlins should have never rendered Straily, but it seemed reasonable at the time.
I’m well aware that the Marlins have a pretty terrible history of bad moves, but I don’t think it’s fair to assume that this move is bad just because it’s the Marlins.
Well said GONEcarlo!
He was the Marlins #1 starter. That is how bad your team is.
You’re so uninformed, it’s laughable because you have no shame in showing that you know nothing about the Marlins. You should go work for E!SPN where you’ll fit right in.
All that huffing and puffing and yet you have given no new information to dissuade me from my assertion that Straily was the #1 on that pathetic staff. Just failed attempts at insults. You are as bad at that as the Marlins are at pitching.
In 2018 Straily had the 2nd best ERA on the team. Straily (4.20 ERA) was better than Urena (4.32 ERA as a starter and 4.45 ERA overall) during his time in Miami.
So please, try to give me information that would make me change my mind that Straily was the #1 on that sad sack staff.
Do you want to know just how bad the Marlins starting rotation is? WITH Straily they were ranked lower than the Padres staff that has no starter with a full season of MLB experience. Worse than Texas. Worse than the Royals and Tigers. blogs.fangraphs.com/2019-positional-power-rankings…
It has got to hurt to be a Marlins fan and to know that as bad as they are now that they are not getting any better in the foreseeable future.
Lol everyone is freaking out. Sure he deserves a spot over Chen. Hill said they spoke to him and told him he would make the pen….so they said they would flat out release him so he can find a starting job (which I’m guessing he will). If anything they did the right thing for him.
The ones that made the rotation pitched way better than him . Smith showed some amazing flashes last season I am excited to watch him again. Lots of those arms have major upside.
Yes people watch Marlins games.
Just like others, waited way too long to trade him 4 or 5 times. He got injured two of those times….said thos would happen 2 years ago. Great job
As for the Marlins SPs that remain, it would have been nice to have some innings eaten up by a veteran option, but Caleb Smith, Pablo Lopez, and Trevor Richards will be good to watch as a young rotation, and they have a couple of arms nearing a call up. I can see the pitching being improved this year. They cant hit to save their lives though
Can someone explain to me why he only received 1.2mm? When they tendered him at $5mm I thought that money is guaranteed.
Arbitration contracts are not guaranteed.
Hello Baltimore, your #3 starter is calling.
Tells you a lot about Straily when he’d be the O’s #3.
Tells you a lot more about the Marlins that he was their #1.
RUN!! and don’t look back so they don’t change their mind.
I get it, but..it just feels wrong.
Shocked Atlanta hasn’t grabbed him yet..along with Tomlin that could be a big part of their rotation.
Dear Oakland front office, We need as many starters/openers as we can possibly work with. Since I know you have a penchant for a frugal financial follow-through, see if Straily will accept an hourly rate and a couple of Starbucks cards.
Yours truly,
Loooong suffering A’s fan
Gonna love those Marlins next year with a $50 million payroll and $20 million of it going to Chen.