The Marlins have claimed righty Ryan Jensen off waivers from the Mariners, the team announced. Seattle designated him for assignment last week after acquiring Seby Zavala and Carlos Vargas from the D-backs in the trade sending Eugenio Suarez to Arizona. Miami’s 40-man roster now has 38 players.
Jensen, 26, was the No. 27 overall pick by the Cubs back in 2019 but hasn’t made his big league debut. Command issues have plagued him throughout his minor league tenure, and the Cubs placed him on waivers shortly after the trade deadline, surely hopeful of sneaking him through in order to retain him without committing a 40-man roster spot. That didn’t happen, as Seattle scooped him up for what will go down as a brief tenure.
This past season, Jensen split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 5.32 earned run average in 64 1/3 innings of work. He operated primarily out of the bullpen, his first season doing so after spending the first few years of his career as a starting pitcher.
In parts of four minor league seasons, Jensen has a 4.42 ERA with a solid 26% strikeout rate but an untenable 14.5% walk rate. His strike-throwing struggles have only mounted as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. Like many prospects, Jensen was surely impacted adversely by the canceled 2020 minor league season, but his command troubles were present even before that lost season; Jensen walked more than 10% of his college opponents and issued 14 free passes in 12 innings of Low-A ball in 2019 following that draft selection.
Jensen has a mid-90s heater, plus ground-ball rates, above-average strikeout rates and a pair of minor league options remaining, so it’s not a surprise to see clubs continue to take a flier on him. He’s a former first-round pick who’s drawn plenty of praise for his athleticism, but he’s a clear project for the Marlins rather than someone on whom they’ll be relying to fill a key role next season. Miami has space on the roster for now, but once they fill the 40-man, Jensen is the type of fringe 40-man name who could again find himself in DFA jeopardy if the Fish feel they need to free up some more space.
Who needs Yamamoto and Ohtani when you can have Ryan freaking Jensen?
Do do you think the Marlins have a realistic chance at either of those players? Because I don’t.
Fun fact, because that Marlins Mets game got rained out and flipped to a Mets 1-0 win, the Marlins have a higher waiver priority than the Diamondbacks. I have no idea if the Diamondbacks would have claimed Jensen (probably not, they could have just included him in the trade with the Mariners in the first place).
Also, the Marlins chose not to claim him back in August when the Cubs waived him. The Mariners instead claimed him. I would be surprised if Jensen is still on the 40 man by spring training.
Jensen may well be on the 40 man roster but the question will be which team? 🙂
Chef Jenny has found new teammates to feed. This is good news.
Might be a great pick up for them. Tanner Scott had a similar issue and now that dude looks like Billy Wagner.
I wouldn’t celebrate Tanner Scott too much. He is sort of Jeckyl and Hyde, except he’s Billy Wagner one day, Mitch Williams the next, and has moments of Renyel “Ford” Pinto.
As for this move, clearly another project for Stottlemyre. Hope it works out.
Agreed. But a deeper look at his numbers suggest he has figured something out with the control numbers seeing a significant improvement. I would personally sell high and trade him now for the reasons you mentioned. Could implode at any moment.
I’d definitely be up for trading him if we get an offer that is for his current peak value. But if not, I’m fine with keeping him, but getting someone else to handle the high-leverage situations.
The one lefty I would trade is Okert. I think a lefty trio of Nardi, Puk and Scott can work well as part of a supporting cast around a proven Closer/high-leverage guy.
We do need to get some better righties for our bullpen. I’m wondering where Anthony Bender is in his return from TJS. I’m also curious if we’d try Sixto in the bullpen. And would we try to bring back Robertson. I’d love to take a shot at Jordan Hicks. I imagine Stottlemyre can harness that talent into a dependable Closer.
Under past GMs of the Marlins, I’d be disappointed by a move like this, but since guys like this were what the Rays would pick up and succeed with, I’m curious to see if this is a similar type move for the Marlins. Does Bendix have some Pat Riley in him – in that he can grab a failing talent and turn him into something?
We shall see.
Should have saved one of those 40-man roster spots for Troy Johnston. Nevertheless, a strong bullpen is an absolute necessity for run prevention. Low risk, high reward move.
With the rumor of them possibly chasing another bat, it does make me wonder why wouldn’t they have given Johnston a shot. I originally thought they left him off the 40-man because the 1B and DH roles were filled, but now I’m wondering if there was another reason. And it still may not make sense because another bat would mean Avi Garcia taking ABs away from Jesus Sanchez and/or Bryan De La Cruz, which makes no sense. It would make sense to place DLC or Sanchez at DH while Avi’s defense can be used in RF while Avi bats 9th. Then use the money for SS and Catcher and a high leverage reliever/Closer…not another bat that may not work out.
Good analysis. I think a lot depends on how much Avi can actually contribute next year. If he flames out again, management will wish they’d retained Johnston rather than Peyton Burdick or Victor Mesa Jr., neither of whom appear major-league ready. It’s always better to have internal options instead of chasing down expensive free agents or rolling the dice on trades. The Marlins need to do a much better job of evaluating, drafting, and developing position players. I know they are rare, but we need more guys like Arraez, players who use his approach at the plate (with a bit more power).
An alternative scenario would be to give Dane Myers a full shot at fourth outfielder/DH/utility/replacement for an underperforming Avi Garcia. I think Myers has a lot of untapped potential. I liked what I saw this year. He’s affordable and a proven hitter, with nothing left to prove in AAA.