4:13pm: Miami cleared the active roster spot by placing Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring issue, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Garcia has had a rough first season in South Florida, hitting only .230/.267/.316 through 357 plate appearances.
11:30am: The Marlins are planning to select the contract of infielder Jordan Groshans, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Groshans is not currently on Miami’s 40-man roster, though they already have a vacancy there. A corresponding move will be required to get Groshans onto the active roster.
Groshans, 22, is a former first round pick of the Blue Jays, getting selected 12th overall in 2018. He played 48 games in rookie ball after that draft and jumped onto Baseball America’s top 100 list, coming in at #89 going into 2019. Groshans then went to A-ball and mashed to the tune of .337/.427/.482, though was limited to just 23 games by a foot injury. BA continued to believe in the results and bumped him all the way up to #29 on their list going into 2020.
After the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues that year, Groshans came into 2021 having only played 23 games over the previous two years. He spent the year at Double-A and showed little rust, at least in terms of putting the bat on the ball, walking in 10.8% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 19.3% of them. However, a back injury limited him to 75 games and seemed to prevent him from providing much power. He hit seven long balls in that time but still put up a healthy batting line of .291/.367/.450, wRC+ of 124.
Coming into 2022, he slid off of BA’s top 100 but was still considered the #4 prospect in Toronto’s system. Their report complimented his feel for the strike zone and all-fields approach but raised concerns about his power potential and inability to stay healthy for a full season. The Jays had Groshans in Triple-A for most of the year, where did manage to stay healthy but still struggled to bring much pop. In 67 games for the Bisons, he walked at a 12.5% rate and struck out just 16.5% of the time but went over the fence just once. That led to a slash line of .250/.348/.296, wRC+ of 81.
The Jays flipped Groshans to the Marlins just prior to the deadline, getting Anthony Bass, Zach Pop and Edward Duran (as a player who was named later) in return. Since then, Groshans has played 31 games for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, hitting .301/.398/.416. That’s a much nicer looking slash line than what he did in Buffalo, though it includes just another two home runs, bringing his season total to three.
Groshans is currently listed as the #9 Marlins prospect at Baseball America, #11 at FanGraphs and #12 at MLB Pipeline. All three reports highlight the quality strike zone work but raise concerns about the lack of power. Whether his profile at the plate proves useful might depend on his eventual defensive position. Groshans has primarily been a shortstop in his career thus far, though also played elsewhere on the infield. Since acquiring him, the Marlins have split his time almost evenly between second, third and short. Most reports suggest he’s better suited to third base than shortstop, which would mean he’d need to take a step forward in the power department. Corner infielders are generally expected to provide more thump than their counterparts up the middle, making the overall Groshans package an unusual one at the moment.
For the Marlins, they came into this season with designs on competing. Their pitching was in good shape but they knew they needed to improve the lineup, adding Jorge Soler, Avisail Garcia, Joey Wendle and Jacob Stallings. Unfortunately, all four of that group has fallen short of expectations, with many of Miami’s in-house options also struggling. The team as a whole has hit .229/.294/.361 for a wRC+ of 86 that’s 27th in the majors. That’s a big reason why the club has limped to a 58-83 record this year and are well out of contention.
With just about three weeks left on the schedule, the Fish can use that time to evaluate some younger players before deciding on their offseason plan of attack. Groshans will step into an infield mix that includes Wendle, Jon Berti, Brian Anderson, Miguel Rojas, Garrett Cooper and Charles Leblanc. There’s also Jazz Chisholm Jr., who won’t return this season due to a back injury but figures to be the regular second baseman next year.
For Groshans, it’s possible that the extended absences from the pandemic and his injuries have prevented him from getting into a good grove and he’s still blossoming. He’s also still just 22 years old, turning 23 in November, giving him time to develop different facets of his game. For a Marlins club that’s been searching for offense for quite some time, they will be hoping he can find that extra gear. With Wendle, Anderson, Rojas and Cooper all slated for free agency after 2023, there could be plenty of openings for a long-term job if he does.
This should be an exciting move for Marlins fans. I hope the kid does well.
What will I do with my Jordans?
Curly, sell em on ebay for 5x what you paid for them
Best of luck to him, looks like he’s picked things up since the trade. I was always looking forward to see him debut as a Blue Jay lol.
This kid has lead off hitter written all over him… drop Berti to No 7 or 8 in the lineup and give this kid a chance to get his feet wet for next year.
He seems like a 3B version of Robbie Grossman. High OBP not much else. Let’s let him prove himself at the bottom of a lineup before you force him into the top
I dunno. His OBP isn’t that impressive for the minors and without any power it’ll probably drop severely in the majors. If he can play a good SS he could be a decent piece, bottom of the lineup guy, but lead off? I don’t see it.
Looks like Groshans would have been Rule 5 eligible this offseason.
He hasn’t shown me enough at AAA to get a call up but my standards are much higher than the Marlins.
Kid has slashed .301/.398/.416 since arriving in AAA Jacksonville. Plus, he’s Rule 5 eligible this offseason. No one cares that he hasn’t shown you “enough”
To say that hundreds of people depend and rely on my MLBTR article analysis would be an understatement. The constant pressure of always being right puts me in a different class.
Pretty sure something else puts you in a “different class”.
@sliderwithcheese I’m in that class, too!
However, teacher said I get to use the flintstones phone during play time this week.
I care. You know what I don’t care about? Less than 200 plate appearances worth of AAA experience for a guy with zero power.
Maybe take a different approach to it. Who on the major league club “has shown you enough” to keep their role for next year? Besides Chisolm, there isn’t one position player I believe you can consider part of “the core” team moving forward. Unfortunately, there are very few bright spots amongst the Marlins position players.
Patton, agree with approach. Here are Marlins keepers for 2023:
1. (SP) Alcanta, Cabrera, Lopez, Rogers, and Luzardo/Garrett (Eury Perez will not be ready until 2024)
2. (RP) Floro, Okert, whichever of Luzardo/Garrett does not make rotation
3. (IF) Fortes, Stallings, Cooper (Arb), Chisholm, Berti (Arb), Rojas.
4. (OF) Garcia, Soler, Bleday (by default for now as he can play CF)
Need a big bat in free agency as best hope is to get one good bat out of Garcia and Soler for 2023. So, yes, plenty of room for Jordan Groshans. Between him and Berti you have a 3B and a utility infielder. The threshold is not that hard to meet unless Miami signs an elite shortstop and makes Rojas the utility.
no Brian Anderson?
Brian Anderson gets $4.4 million this year in arbitration, even if he did not get a pay raise that is too much money for a backup 3B, 4th outfielder and guy who does not hit well enough to be a primary DH.
Instead, the Marlins need to acquire a solid hitting outfielder. Look, we all know Judge, Haniger and Brantley are out. Even Nimmo and Conforto will cost a lot.
What about Kiermaier, Pollock, Profar, Corey Dickerson, Naquin, Duvall and Myers? I think Fish ought to be able sign one or two of those outfielders on a one year $5 million deal. The question is which of them are better than Anderson. I like Kiermaier because he can play CF (when he is not injured) and Bleday is not ready, his sub 0.200 average is too big a liability. Profar and naquin can probably get multi-year deals. Dickerson and Duvall are more 4th outfielder types although Dickerson is hitting close to 0.290.
I wish the Cubs wouldve gotten this Kid
Big fan of his
Is he a good fielder? His minor league stats don’t scream star to me.
Good at 3B. Not so much a SS
Thanks. Really doubt he’s gonna hit enough to be a third baseman.
When his competition is Wendell and Anderson, “enough” isn’t to hard to meet. Just has to have an OPS of .700 to be better. Then couple that with the fact he is much better defensively at 3b than both of those two, you have a net positive.
“The Jays had Groshans in Triple-A for most of the year, where did manage to stay healthy but still struggled to bring much pop“
I see what you did there.
He brought Pop to the Blue Jays, but not much in Buffalo
Marlins obtained Jordan Groshans for snap, crackle and Pop.
wtf, the blue jays traded their 4th best, top 100, mlb ready prospect for a few arms? what??
I am a Cubs’ fan. I thought that trade was win-win, though part of me believes that Bass belongs with the Fish. Marlins can replace the bullpen pitchers at the same cost of the salaries that they shipped out.
This was a solid trade for the Marlins. They didn’t give up much. If he can regain some pop, he could be quite a nice player. Profiles as a poor man’s DJ LeMahieu at the moment.
HBan22
DJ hit 0.321 career in minors.
Jordan hit 0.285 career in minors.
So, the comparison is quite a stretch.
Well I did say a “poor man’s” version! But fair enough. I just meant that I could see him turning into a similar type of player, if he reaches his ceiling.
Can only hear this name in Greg Amsinger’s voice. Now same problem for you guys.
Warmer, Nicer weather can really benefit a player. Groshans seems to have benefitted from this after struggling in the summer in a hot and humid Mid-Atlantic city (Buffalo) know for cold winters. Mickey Moniak also seemed to be that way until he broke this thumb (again). Tl;dr, less humidity can sometimes help a struggling player
OKBaseballFan;
When cities get more humid around late May is when hitting – and especially power hitting – increases.
Temperatures and humidity are currently declining, and will going into October when the payoffs start (a big reason why the teams that can manufacture runs and play defense as opposed to hitting the ball out of the park do better in the playoffs).
Good pickup by the Fish. The kid has promise.
His position as an infielder, has taken quite a toll on Jordon’s body.
You should see his Gros hans !!
Overrated