The Marlins announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired infielder Emmanuel Rivera from the D-backs in exchange for cash. Shortstop Jacob Amaya was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Rivera, 28 in June, is coming off a lackluster season in 2023 but seemed on the verge of a breakout in the prior two years. In 2021, while with the Royals, he first reached Triple-A and hit .286/.348/.592 in his first 63 games at that level.
In 2022, he did well at Triple-A again, hitting .307/.388/.520. He couldn’t immediately carry that over to the big leagues, hitting .243/.294/.378 in 309 plate appearances for the Royals in 2021 and 2022, translating to a wRC+ of 85. But he was traded to the Diamondbacks at the 2022 deadline for right-hander Luke Weaver and hit .227/.304/.424 for the Snakes after the deal, producing a wRC+ of 104 in that time.
In 2023, he continued mashing in Triple-A, hitting .330/.395/.598 there. In the bigs, however, he slashed .261/.314/.358 for a wRC+ of 83. He burned his last option last year and is now out of options. He stuck with the Diamondbacks through the winter but didn’t make the Opening Day roster and got squeezed off the 40-man.
For the Marlins, they will take a shot on Rivera and hope that his continually strong Triple-A production can start to filter up to the majors. He’s considered a strong defender at third, with nine Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average, with the ability to play first as well.
The Fish have Jake Burger as their regular at the hot corner but he’s not considered great with the glove, -11 DRS and -14 OAA, so Rivera could perhaps spell him in the field on occasion. Rivera has also hit .273/.327/.410 against lefties in his big league career compared to .233/.293/.364 against righties so perhaps could be used against southpaws while Burger goes to first base or the designated hitter spot. Corner outfielders Jesús Sánchez and Nick Gordon are both lefties with notable platoon splits, so perhaps they could be shielded a bit.
As for Amaya, 25, he’s long been considered a strong defender but the big question has been how much he can hit. Acquired from the Dodgers just over a year ago in the Miguel Rojas trade, he made his major league debut last year and got two singles in his first nine plate appearances. He hit .252/.345/.407 in Triple-A last year for a wRC+ 89.
He has just one minor league option remaining so it may be something of a make-or-break year for him. The Marlins will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Given his solid defensive reputation, he could appeal to clubs with questions about their shortstop depth, especially since Amaya can be kept in the minors for the rest of the season.
Pads stash him in AAA?
Neither Burger or Rivera will solve their deficient defense at 3B. That’s not to mention the inferior defense that TA plays at SS.
You’re wrong there he’s strong on Def and if they’d be smart and give him consistent playing time the bat is their Torrey believes to much in platoon and like his momentum when long was hurt last year and he played everyday his bat was there
Who’s strong on D, TA?
I think he was referring to Rivera.
One can hope
Some guys just love to reach for a bash of the Marlins. They really need to stop watching ESPN.
Good, at least he won’t be playing for Arizona again.
No cub by that name. We have had edwin rios who is now in the reds system and manny rodriguez who is now in the rays system. Closest former cubs to that name I can think of or Alfonso Rivas.. who is in the cards system
I think with regular at-bats Rivera could be good and his 3B defense has looked good to me (eye test). With wages going up for California fast food workers, maybe the Fish are thinking about selling their Burger?
Burger is not really a selling piece yet as I think they seem to like him at 1B/DH. I think they’ll move him there before thinking of moving him.
This move may be in preparation for the trade deadline, if the Marlins continue to show they’ll be out early this year. Burger probably moves to 1B after the Marlins move Josh Bell in a trade. That’s what this looks like. It has been looking like it for a while, but a Playoff run would’ve delayed it until this offseason when Bell hits free agency. The bad start and poor bullpen performance may have hastened this move.
The part about Fish selling Burger was in jest. My feeling that is serious Rivera’s upside can be Anderson or Cantu at their peak
I hope Brian Anderson’s glove and Cantu’s bat.
But wait, I thought that Marlins fans were saying Amaya was the reason that they didn’t need to pick up a SS this offseason.
Yes. He’s good defensively, but his bat isn’t MLB-ready yet.
And the Marlins didn’t need to go out of their way to get a SS because we made the Playoffs with Joey Wendle who gave no bat or defense help to the team. Amaya would’ve been an upgrde from the glove alone.
Speak of the devil.
Marlins were dead last in SS offense last season and bottom 3rd on defense.
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qua…
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qua…
You used advanced stats and I used eyeball test, and we both came to the same conclusion. It shows how bad Joey Wendle was where anyone could see it, no matter what method they use.
I’ve never met Jacob Amaya, but his late grandfather Frank, who played in the Dodgers’ organization in the 50s, worked at the high school where I teach in the San Gabriel Valley. I didn’t know him well, but he always seemed like a really nice, down-to-earth man.
I’m guessing Bride will be the odd man out.
What do we have to do to win a ballgame? At least the new uniform choices look really stunning. If nothing else, we’re definitely a sharp-dressed team.
Yep, those jerseys are great – especially the Marlins blue one.
As for winning a game, we would’ve had 3 if the bullpen held the leads they were given.
It’s going to be a long season. We were a contender for the 5th or 6th Playoff spot as a mid-80s win team, but with our bullpen looking like they did in 2021 and 2022, we can look forward to 90 losses this year. I’ve already gotten into just enjoying the season, and hoping that Bell, Scott, and Tim Anderson have good enough numbers to get some trade value at the deadline. And somehow Avi-matic Out has a surprise first half that actually gives us a chance to move him too – even thogh it likely means he got back to using whatever he was before to get his contract, so I hope there’s no suspension before a trade.