The Marlins have signed right-hander Adam Oller to a minor league deal, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X. The righty will presumably report to Triple-A Jacksonville at some point in the near future.
Oller, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Guardians in the offseason but was released last week. He had tossed 27 2/3 innings for Triple-A Columbus in a swing role, including six starts and six relief appearances. His 7.48 earned run average in that time was obviously not great and surely contributed to the Guards deciding to let him go, along with his 14.4% walk rate. But he also punched out 26.4% of batters faced, which is a strong clip.
Prior to this season, Oller was with the A’s for a while, coming over from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade from March of 2022. He tossed 94 big league innings with Oakland over 2022 and 2023 but with a 7.09 ERA, 13.5% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. He went to the Mariners on waivers in July of last year but was kept on optional assignment and struggled before being outrighted at season’s end.
Despite the rough numbers of late, there’s logic to the interest from the Marlins. Going back to the start of 2021, Oller has struck out 25.2% of batters faced in 293 2/3 minor league innings. His 4.93 ERA in that time isn’t great, but teams are generally on the lookout for pitchers who can get punchouts.
The Marlins have had their pitching staff decimated by injuries this year, with Braxton Garrett currently on the 15-day injured list while each of Sandy Alcántara, Eury Pérez, Jesús Luzardo, Sixto Sánchez, Ryan Weathers and Josh Simpson are on the 60-day version. As a deadline seller, they could further deplete the staff by trading guys like Tanner Scott, Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera and others in the next few weeks.
If Oller can get onto Miami’s roster, he still has one option season remaining and less than a year of service time. If he brings his strikeout stuff to the big leagues, that could make him a long-term piece for the Fish, though he’ll have to earn his way into their plans first.
Why not
The Marlins gave him a Oller.
What’s with all the discrimination in the world today against otters?
Otters live in habitats known as “couches”, like many of us, and even though they are very playful, no otter has even been known to play stupid games like pickleball.
Cold water otters have high metabolic rates, and consume as much as 25% of their body weight, everyday, which sounds like a very sensible goal to me.
Otters are also known for attacks on humans, which is..
Oh. Oller.
I thought this said otter.
Never mind.
HA