The Guardians announced Tuesday that outfielder Roman Quinn has been released. He’d been playing with their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal over the winter but coming up shy of a roster spot in spring training. Quinn is now a free agent and will look to sign on with another club in search of some speed and/or outfield depth.
Quinn, 29, was once a touted prospect in the Phillies organization but has never found his footing in the big leagues. He appeared in 15 games with the Guardians’ Triple-A club this year but managed only a .176/.391/.235 batting line in 48 plate appearances. That comes on the heels of a .215/.287/.304 showing in 87 big league plate appearances between the Rays and Phillies in 2022.
In parts of six Major League seasons, Quinn has tallied 599 plate appearances with a tepid .226/.303/.348 batting line to show for his efforts. Contact has been a considerable problem for Quinn, who’s fanned in 30.4% of his plate appearances against an 8% walk rate.
While Quinn doesn’t hit much, he’s a flat-out burner on the basepaths and in the outfield — evidenced by a 96th-percentile ranking from Statcast for his average sprint speed during the 2022 season. Despite a paltry .303 career on-base percentage, Quinn has swiped 43 bases in 54 tries (79.6%). He’s also capable of playing all three outfield positions and has drawn above-average grades for his glovework from both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average.
Just wait for that pinch runner rule.
My thought exactly. Perhaps he will now sign with an Atlantic League club to fit wit their experimental “designated runner” plan.
Roman Quinn hasn’t been very good on the bases the last couple years.
He’s actually been a great baserunner & defensive player, just last season, his baserunning won 2 games for the Phillies, and saved one with a 99.6mph assist from CF to throw out a runner at the plate in a tie game vs ATL. He also scored from 1st on a single, and scored from 2nd on an infield single the prior season. He was clocked as the fastest player in MLB in 2021.
A desperate move.
They badly need RH bats that can hit, hit with power, and drive in runs.
What is desperate about releasing a guy from a minor league deal?
Bro he was sub .200 in triple A, it’s not a big deal if they release him
It was a desperate move to even sign him.
The man has failed everywhere. What was the point?
Bro
I think Tyler O’Neill is a good fit for Cleveland. He isn’t terribly expensive, he’s a free agent after the season, and Tito is probably the best possible person to help O’Neill get out of his own head and mash.
The Cardinals don’t need to get anything from Cleveland’s ML roster. We can be happy with a couple of lower level CF/SS’s.
I have followed him throughout his career, he was an extremely good player in AA and AAA but has been plagued with Injuries (ruptured Achilles tendon, concussion, hamstring, torn tendon in his thumb– always serious injuries, but rarely the same area affected more than 1x. He was on a hot streak for about 3-4 weeks in August of 2021 before an injury derailed his season. When healthy, he can be a major asset for any team.
Thanks for the effort Roman.
Now pick up your crap and get out.
2023 Cactus League legend
There were times he looked like a can’t miss for the Phillies and then suddenly he would have a major injury.
I always like Roman Quinn. In his post game interviews he spoke with energy. Like he was just excited about being a ball player. He also gave better answers to questions than, “just gotta take it one game at a time…don’t try to do too much…” and all the other platitudes. Dude was just pumped to play and he exuded that to the fans.
Agree, Roman Quinn played the right way. Before his injuries, he was one of the fastest couple guys in baseball.
But Roman Quinn is no John Jaha at the plate – but to be expected with Roman numbers instead of arabic numbers.
Billy Hamilton 2.0?
He’s better than Billy. Roman is a natural RH hitter, but hit a HR from the left side into the middle of the 2md deck in CBP.
Actually, Roman asked to be released. Just have to love how they never seem to mention that.
After Deshaun Watson, no athlete will admit asking to be released
He wanted to make the big league team out of ST, and hung around for a month (was doing very well for a week, even hitting a couple HRs in the the 1st game or 2, but when he was playing every other game, I think he wanted to look for a team who will at least play him everyday in AAA or hopefully be a reserve in MLB