The Marlins are designating left-hander Matt Moore for assignment, as noted by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Left-hander Ryan Weathers was recalled to take Moore’s place on the 40-man roster. The move comes as little surprise, as Moore’s contract is set to expire following the 2023 campaign and he was ineligible for the postseason after being claimed from the Guardians off waivers earlier this month.
It’s been a strange season for Moore, who signed a one-year, $7.55MM deal with the Angels this past offseason on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw him post a 1.95 ERA across 74 innings of work for the Rangers. While Moore wasn’t quite that dominant in 2023, the lefty was still one of the better set-up arms in the game. In 51 2/3 innings of work this year, Moore has posted a 2.56 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 6.9%.
Despite those strong numbers, Moore has been placed on waivers twice over the past few months. The first time was by the Angels in August alongside the likes of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez as a cost-cutting measure once the club was firmly out of postseason contention. He was claimed alongside Giolito and Lopez by the Guardians, who at the time were still fighting to stay alive in the AL Central race. While Giolito and Lopez remained with the Guardians down the stretch, however, Cleveland opted to place Moore on waivers once again in mid-September, once their chances at the postseason became remote.
That unusual sequence of events brought Moore to the Marlins, for whom he posted four scoreless innings as they fought to clinch a spot in the postseason. They did so with last night’s win over the Pirates, during which Moore struck out one while allowing a hit and hitting a batter during his scoreless inning of work.
As for Weathers, the young left-hander joined the Marlins at the trade deadline in a deal that sent first baseman Garrett Cooper to the Padres. In two games with the big league club in Miami, Weathers has struggled badly, allowing eleven runs in just seven innings of work while allowing as many walks as strikeouts (9). The lefty figures to help the Marlins cover innings and keep the pitchers they plan to carry into the Wild Card series on Tuesday fresh in today’s final game of the season. Looking ahead to 2024, Weathers could be an interesting multi-inning or even starting option for the Marlins, as the 23-year-old has posted a solid 2.54 ERA across seven starts at the Triple-A level since joining the organization.
They got the most out of him considering they just clinched a playoff spot, and that’s what mattered most. No point in having him on the roster anymore considering he’s an impending free agent plus he’s ineligible for the postseason.
Sometimes Moore is less.
Ryan Weathers isn’t any good. He walks a lot and gives up HRs. If this is Miami’s LH from the pen, the post season will end soon for them.
Weather’s has no real future in MLB, you’re certainly right about that.
> Weather’s has no real future in MLB
Wrong. Weather’s going to determine if you play or not (rain, snow, etc). It most certainly has a future in MLB.
@GarryHarris I hard disagree, I think Weathers has a ton of potential. He was just rushed up too early. He can easily be a third starter in this league. Lefties like him don’t just grow on trees
Weathers and Grayson Rodriguez, alomg with Carter Stewart and Liberatore, were the top 4 HS pitchers in the 2018 draft. Huge career path gap. GRod was carefully managed and will start in the playoffs. Weathers was rushed and wrecked by Preller. Liberatore was traded by the Rays for Arrozerena. Stewart signed in Japan.
Careers are not always about talent. The drafting organization is huge. The Padres drafted ahead of the Os in 2018 and frittered away the value and the career.
I’ve never looked into the numbers, but I’ve always felt that lefties take more time to develop (rare exceptions like Kershaw–I played with him in high school. He was already pretty polished) for some reason. Some day I’ll sit down and see if that is reflected in the numbers.
Weathers is still very young and has great stuff. I could see him being successful as a reliever. He could still figure it out as a starter as well.
Another decent LHRP the Astros didn’t attempt to sign
or Cubs for that matter
I thought a team could petition the league for late acquisitions as injury replacements
Yes to that.
I believe to do so, the player coming in needs to have been part of the org at the deadline.
The petitioning option is pretty much limited to an injury at catcher. Every other position can be effectively covered by a 40 man roster.
Happy days!
This guy has been jerked around more than a plastic bag tied to a Tilt a Whirl. Something has to be done about this type of practice in the next CBA.
I don’t know.. it doesn’t seem that unusual for a player to be on three teams in a single year.
It essentially turned his September into a long road trip.. instead only being on the road for 15 days, he was on the road for 30.
It’s not the movement, it is the reason for the movement. This was a very good reliever that was salary dumped for nothing on the waiver wire twice. I could understand him being TRADED twice, or if he stunk I could understand being waived twice. But a reliever having a really good season should be viewed as an asset, not a liability.
Salaries are so out of control, teams must reduce payroll so some players careers are being sacrificed. The PU CBA can’t help the situation.
Could someone with an atrocious bullpen, like the Mets, sign him now and then give him an extension before people get foolish and compete for tolerable relievers in the winter? Not saying he’s great, but established.
If the Marlins were to win the World Series, would he be given a ring? He certainly helped even if not for very long.
Absolutely. I think the team decides. For example, Joe Nathan (in his final year @ age 43) got a WS Ring from the Cubs in 2016, his only WS ring, yet he really only spent one weekend with them down the stretch, but he was still good & helped. I’d be curious if Shawn Green has a ring from the 1993 Blue Jays. Or Don Sutton from the 1988 Dodgers.