The Marlins have claimed outfielder Joey Wiemer off waivers from the Royals and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He was designated for assignment by Kansas City last week.
Wiemer, 26, once ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects during his time in the Brewers system. The 2020 fourth-rounder had a huge season between Class-A and High-A in 2021 and hit well as a 23-year-old between Double-A and Triple-A in 2022.
Wiemer made his big league debut in 2023, showing off some of the power, speed and defense that made him a well-regarded prospect but also some of the red flags that troubled scouts. He popped 13 homers and swiped 11 bags in 410 plate appearances but also hit just .204/.283/.362. Nearly all of his production came against left-handed pitching. He received only 28 plate appearances the following season, and he’s since been traded to the Reds and the Royals before now landing in Miami.
It’s a small sample, but in 139 major league plate appearances, Wiemer has hit .263/.295/.481 (108 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. He’s still fanned in nearly 32% of his plate appearances versus southpaws, however, and he’s just a .169/.271/.281 hitter in 299 plate appearances versus righties. Wiemer can handle all three outfield positions and draws positive marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average.
Wiemer hasn’t had much success in Triple-A this year, and it’s fairly damning that a team with outfield struggles as pronounced as those we’ve seen in Kansas City never game him a look in the majors. In 296 Triple-A plate appearances this year, he’s hitting .182/.291/.312 with nine homers and 12 steals.
This is Wiemer’s final minor league option year. He’ll need to stick on a big league roster in 2026 or else be designated for assignment (assuming, of course, he sticks on a 40-man roster until next year, which is no sure thing). He’ll give the Fish some depth in the outfield for the time being but could eventually emerge as a bench option/fourth outfielder if he can turn things around in Jacksonville between now and season’s end.
Whoa!
So many outfielders can’t play defense so when you can that is a real plus. Riley Greene showed how you play great defense. That Yankee OF showed how you lose Games the other day
Joey has a great glove; it’s the bat that he has trouble with.
Brewer legend with a violent swing. Also had a good arm. Got called up early in his career due to injuries to others. Wonder if that now makes him bounce as a DFA guy.
Yeah, he wasn’t ready when he got the call. I wonder if that killed his confidence because he can’t hit minor league pitching anymore either.
Royals gonna unlock him. KC is a hitter’s destination.
Said no one ever.
Congrats Fish on a really good month of baseball. And for sweeping a team I grew up loathing, the Yankees.
I’m sure Boone was there to console the Yankees after playing horrible baseball. He’s their best friend!
As a brewers fan, They gave him a golden opportunity first 4 months of the ‘23 season. He was a flawed offensive player and as the article said, against righty’s he was atrocious
Personally, I don’t get the interest in him. Granted, he’s minor league depth at a minimal cost, but if the Brewers can’t fix him, then who can?
This guy has the worst swing I have ever seen, even including uncoordinated kids I grew up with in little league. If this baseball thing doesn’t work out for him, he should consider a second career as a lumberjack because he’s got that chopping form down. How he managed to hit 13 home runs in 2023 with that launch angle, you just know he’s got that lumberjack power.
Quick bat but an overly violent swing which has been detrimental to contact. There’s potential there.