Infielder Charles Leblanc has been passed through waivers by the Marlins and outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Leblanc was designated for assignment last week when the club signed Jean Segura.
Leblanc, 27 in June, was drafted by the Rangers in 2016 but was never added to their roster. In November of 2021, he was selected by the Marlins in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He played well enough in Jacksonville to get selected to the big league roster in July. In 87 games for the Jumbo Shrimp, he hit .302/.381/.503 for a wRC+ of 134.
Once up in the big leagues, he got into 48 games and generally carried himself well. He hit .263/.320/.404 for a wRC+ of 107 while playing the three non-shortstop infield positions. Despite those strong points, there were also some concerning elements. His .374 batting average on balls in play was well beyond the .290 league average, suggesting there may have been some good fortune in his results. He also struck out in 31.4% of his trips to the plate, well beyond the 22.4% MLB mean.
It seems those latter points were strong enough to keep any of the 29 other teams from putting in a claim. That allows the Marlins to hang onto him as a depth piece who isn’t taking up a spot on the 40-man.
Bref says he isn’t related to Wade LeBlanc. That’s very strange. Only 3 guys in MLB history have had the last name LeBlanc.
Not when you consider there are an estimated 42.279 people in the US with the same surname.
He is from Quebec, where there must be many, many people with the same name, which translates to Chuck White,
BTW he swings the bat well and hit the Mets (my club) hard late in 2022. Someone should sign him if Miami does not.
Wade may have had the best career for a 7th starter in the history of baseball.
I’m surprised nobody took a shot at him. Then again, I find myself saying that quite a bit. I guess a roster slot is a bigger deal than we mere mortals envision.
And yet Aaron Hicks still defies logic & that general rule of thumb. He must be a good cook.
Yankees have Aaron Hicks; the Marlins have Garrett Cooper.
I am surprised too. Great that we get to keep him.
Luckily MARLINS did not lose this good player, who really deserves an opportunity to prove his promising value for the team..
Glad that he’s still with the organization.
This is surprisingly lucky…
Matt Leblanc is also no longer with the parent club..
Jacksson, Joey asked “how you doin’?”