Marlins, Jorge Alfaro Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The CAA client will return for a second stint with the Fish, having previously spent the 2019-21 seasons in Miami. He’ll be assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville.
Alfaro, 30, originally signed with the Rangers as an amateur out of Colombia but was traded to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels blockbuster and then to the Marlins as part of Miami’s return for J.T. Realmuto. Alfaro logged 876 plate appearances in his three seasons with the Marlins, batting a combined .252/.298/.386 before being traded to the Padres in exchange for cash in Dec. 2021.
The 2023 season has seen Alfaro pinball around the league. Alfaro signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in January but opted out of that deal in June after a big start to his season in Triple-A. He landed with the Rockies on a new minor league deal but was quickly selected to the Majors, where he hit .161/.188/.387 in a tiny sample of 32 plate appearances. Cut loose by Colorado, Alfaro returned to the Red Sox — this time on a big league deal. He went 2-for-17 and lasted just eight games in Boston before being designated for assignment and again electing free agency.
Now back with the Marlins, Alfaro will serve as some experienced catching depth in the upper minors. He’s never really delivered on his longstanding status as a top prospect, batting .252/.303/.393 in 1710 plate appearances at the big league level between five teams. However, Alfaro has a solid track record in Triple-A and is enjoying a big year there in 2023, posting a combined .323/.366/.524 line between the top affiliates for the Rox and Sox.
Catching help has been a perennial need for the Marlins since they traded Realmuto, as neither Alfaro nor his successor (fellow trade acquisition Jacob Stallings) has taken the job and run with it. Stallings is sporting a dismal .188/.290/.250 batting line on the current season, and fellow backstop Nick Fortes has only been marginally better at .221/.270/.312. Both have delivered sound defensive grades — Fortes, in particular, has been strong — but the lack of offense is glaring. Stallings and Fortes have combined for a .207/.280/.288 output at the plate, and the resulting 60 wRC+ (suggesting they’ve been 40% below league-average at the plate) ranks 29th in the Majors, leading only the Guardians.
The Opener: Contreras, Altuve, MLBTR Chat
Here are three things to keep an eye out for today…
1. Contreras update:
Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras exited last night’s game due to tightness in his right hip. The 31-year-old knocked in a run with an RBI single in the third inning but appeared to tweak something when tagging up on a fly-ball. He initially remained in the game, but after being doubled off on the bases, Contreras was “clearly limping off the field,” tweets Katie Woo of The Athletic. It’s been a miserable season for the Cardinals in general, but Contreras has flipped his own narrative with a blistering summer at the plate. Over the past two months, he’s been one of the best hitters on the planet, slashing .378/.427/.630 dating back to June 15. On the whole, Contreras is hitting .261/.357/.446 — numbers that fall right in line with his career marks. The Cardinals should have an update on his status before tonight’s game against the A’s. If Contreras requires a trip to the injured list, Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera would likely share catching duties in his absence.
2. Milestone watch for Altuve:
Jose Altuve‘s three-hit showing in last night’s game pushed him within four hits of joining the 2,000-hit club. It’s at least feasible, albeit unlikely, that the Houston second baseman could reach that milestone tonight against Johnny Cueto and the Marlins. Altuve has already picked up a pair of four-hit games on the season, with his second coming just five days ago. The 33-year-old is in the midst of a torrid stretch at the dish, hitting safely in 15 of his past 16 games and slashing a preposterous .446/.532/.692 during that span of 77 plate appearances. Even if it’s not tonight, Altuve seems certain to become the 296th player in Major League history to cross the 2,000-hit threshold within the next few days.
3. MLBTR Chat today
It’s Tuesday, which means I’ll be hosting my weekly chat this afternoon at 1pm CT. You can click here to submit a question in advance and use that same link to follow along live or read the transcript after it’s concluded!
Cubs Notes: Stroman, Smyly, Deadline
The Cubs are on the verge of getting a big arm back as they try to keep pace in the National League Wild Card chase and in the NL Central. Manager David Ross said yesterday (link via MLB.com) that “all signs point” to Marcus Stroman returning to the team on Wednesday, when he’s first eligible to return from a stay on the 15-day injured list. Stroman added that he’s “in a way better space” following the downtime, suggesting that the hip injury which has plagued him ultimately led him to try to compensate — and thus compromise his mechanics.
Stroman, 32, was excellent for his first 16 starts this season, pitching to a 2.28 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate, an 8.8% walk rate and a massive 59.9% ground-ball rate. His .235 average on balls in play and 80.2% strand rate both appeared bound for regression, but not to the extent that transpired. In his next seven starts, Stroman was shelled for 30 runs in 30 innings. His strikeout rate dipped to 18.8% and his grounder rate fell to 52.9% — all while his walk rate spiked up to 10.9%.
Overall, Stroman’s 3.85 ERA in 128 2/3 innings is still a solid mark on the season — one that likely puts him in position to turn down his 2024 player option at season’s end. Stroman could pick up said option and lock in a $21MM salary for the upcoming season, but he’s far likelier to return to free agency in search of another multi-year contract (which he’ll very likely find). The right-hander sports a 3.35 ERA, 21% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 53.3% ground-ball rate over his past 630 2/3 big league innings, dating back to 2019. He’s also already received a qualifying offer in his career, meaning he can’t receive another one. As such, teams interested in signing the righty won’t have to worry about draft-pick compensation.
Stroman’s impending return to the rotation comes at a time when the Cubs have been shuffling the starting staff. The Cubs bumped left-hander Drew Smyly to the bullpen over the weekend, though Ross told reporters that the move would only be “for a short amount of time” (link via Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). The hope will be that moving into relief work for a bit will give the struggling lefty something of a reset. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy noted that “getting guys in the bullpen in short bursts to reset and get your mind back into attacking the strike zone and simplifying things” can sometimes help pitchers turn a corner.
It’s indeed been a rough patch for the 34-year-old Smyly, who returned to the Cubs on a two-year, $19MM contract in the offseason. Like Stroman, Smyly was excellent through mid-June, notching a 3.38 ERA in 82 2/3 innings. And like Stroman, Smyly went on to pitch to a jarring 9.00 ERA over his next several starts (seven appearances, 35 innings). Smyly’s strikeout and walk rates remained sound — his strikeout rate actually increased — but he’s been extraordinarily homer-prone during this slump, yielding an average of 3.09 round-trippers per nine innings pitched. Smyly owned his struggles and said he’s willing to pitch in whatever role the team wants; he tossed a scoreless inning this weekend in his first relief appearance of the year.
With Stroman returning and Smyly shifting into the ‘pen for the time being, rookie Javier Assad could continue to see some work out of the rotation. The 26-year-old’s last two appearances have been starts, and he’s allowed a pair of runs on nine hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings. Assad has a 3.12 ERA on the season, though his pedestrian 18.1% strikeout rate and hefty 10.5% walk rate point to some possible regression. For now, he’s in the mix alongside Stroman, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for the Cubs — a well-timed resurgence that brought the team from the brink of selling at the trade deadline to instead adding infielder Jeimer Candelario and righty Jose Cuas. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic chronicled the team’s rise from likely seller to clear-cut buyer in a piece that Cubs fans, in particular, will want to check out in full. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer discussed the team’s approach with Rosenthal, revealing that the Cubs told inquiring clubs they planned to wait until concluding a four-game series with the Cardinals on July 30 before making a call on their approach.
The second game of that series ended in dramatic fashion, with Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman robbing Alec Burleson of what would’ve been a walk-off home run. That catch seemingly sealed the Cubs’ direction. It was reported the next day that Cody Bellinger had been taken off the trade market. Hoyer tells Rosenthal that over the course of the weekend, the tone and nature of incoming calls from other clubs quickly changed. Less than 72 hours after Tauchman’s catch, the Cubs acquired Candelario from the Nationals. Rosenthal’s column is full of quotes from Hoyer, Ross, Tauchman, Dansby Swanson, Yan Gomes and others on the team’s rise from a 26-36 club mid-June to their current 61-57 record. The Cubs are 3.5 games out of first place in the Central and just a half-game back the Wild Card standings.
White Sox, Travis Swaggerty Agree To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have agreed to a deal with outfielder Travis Swaggerty, whom the Pirates released last month. The former No. 10 overall draft pick effectively announced the news himself on Instagram. MLBTR has confirmed that it’s a minor league deal between the two parties.
Swaggerty, 26 later this week, made a very brief MLB debut last year with Pittsburgh, going 1-for-9 in his only big league action to date. He’s been injured for much of the season but had been on a rehab assignment prior to his DFA and subsequent release. He’s been healthy enough for just 72 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, batting .200/.278/.369 in that small sample. As recently as the 2022 season, he hit .254/.348/.400 (102 wRC+) in 458 plate appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis.
Prior to the 2019 season, MLB.com ranked Swaggerty as the sport’s No. 87 overall prospect, touting his plus speed, plus glove and disciplined approach while also crediting him with an average hit tool and average power. Swaggerty has regularly displayed a keen eye at the plate, drawing a walk in 11.4% of his minor league plate appearances, and he’s swiped 59 bags in 314 minor league games (20-for-25 in Triple-A last year). He’s also fanned in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances since being drafted, however, and has never topped 11 homers in a season. He’s also dealt with several injuries, most notably requiring surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after he dislocated it during a slide in 2021.
Swaggerty becomes the fourth former top prospect on whom the White Sox have taken a chance since their deadline sell-off. Chicago also claimed right-handers Brent Honeywell Jr. and Deivi Garcia off waivers and acquired righty Luis Patino from the Rays for cash. All three were, at various points over the past few seasons, among the most touted pitching prospects in the sport. There’s little harm in the White Sox taking a look at some former top prospects in the final weeks of the season — and perhaps into next year — given the thin nature of their own farm and the various holes they’ll need to fill in the offseason.
Submit Your Questions For The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll often answer questions submitted by our readers. With the next episode due Wednesday morning, we’re looking for MLBTR readers to submit their questions, and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror, but there’s still seven weeks of the regular season remaining. Whether it’s a deadline retrospective, a question surrounding postseason races, or a forward-looking question to the offseason trade/free agent markets — please send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Opener: Diaz, Albies, Recent DFAs
Just under seven weeks remain on the regular season schedule. Some injury and transaction news to monitor…
1. Does Diaz have time to return?
Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who suffered a torn patellar tendon during the World Baseball Classic, has been throwing off the base of the mound and is about a week out from his next wave of tests, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He could be cleared for full mound work early next week, which at least creates the possibility that he’d return to the mound before season’s end. The Mets won’t rush him but will allow him to take the hill if he’s up to full strength, despite the fact that 2023 has become a lost season.
Diaz alone couldn’t have salvaged the 2023 campaign, but losing him for the majority (if not all) of the season was still crushing news back in March. The 29-year-old Diaz signed the largest contract for any relief pitcher in history this winter (five years, $102MM with two opt-out opportunities) after pitching to a 1.31 ERA with a staggering 50.2% strikeout rate in 62 innings last year.
2. Albies exits with hamstring issue:
Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies exited last night’s game after experiencing cramping in his left hamstring, per the team. The Braves dubbed the move “precautionary” in nature and figure to have an update on Albies’ status today. It doesn’t sound particularly concerning at the moment, but Albies has been one of the key cogs in a juggernaut Atlanta lineup this year, batting .267/.327/.514 with 28 home runs, 21 doubles, four triples and an 11-for-11 showing in stolen bases. Given Albies’ importance to the lineup and the Braves’ massive 11-game lead in the NL East, it’s understandable to see the team play things safe. If Albies requires a few days off or even a trip to the 10-day IL, the Braves would likely turn to deadline acquisition Nicky Lopez, who replaced Albies in last night’s game and would provide standout glovework at the position in his stead.
3. Recent DFAs back on the market?
A handful of veterans have been designated for assignment over the past few days, any of whom could be of interest to contending clubs seeking depth ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline for postseason eligibility. Tigers lefty Chasen Shreve is on release waivers, for instance, and could bulk up a team’s left-handed depth in the bullpen. His 4.79 ERA isn’t much to look at, but the 33-year-old Shreve has a solid 23.3% strikeout rate, a terrific 6.7% walk rate and an above-average 46.8% ground-ball rate in 41 1/3 innings. Catcher Carson Kelly hasn’t yet passed through waivers after being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks, but his $4.275MM salary should make him a good bet to clear. He has enough service to reject an outright assignment and retain the remainder of that salary. Kelly hasn’t hit well in 92 plate appearances this year, but he’s a career .257/.346/.471 hitter against lefties, and he has roughly average framing marks with plus blocking grades from Statcast in his career.
Orioles righty Mychal Givens has missed the bulk of the season due to knee and shoulder injuries, and Baltimore designated him yesterday. His $5MM salary should allow him to clear, at which point the veteran will surely become a free agent. He pitched to a 6.60 ERA in 15 rehab frames and has allowed five runs in his four MLB innings this year, but Givens has a lengthy track record and would be available on a minor league deal. Once he clears waivers and is released, a new team would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any MLB time. It’ll also be worth keeping an eye on Red Sox righty Dinelson Lamet, who cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A. Like Kelly and Givens, Lamet has enough service time to reject that outright assignment and retain his entire salary, if he chooses.
White Sox Claim Deivi Garcia
2:34pm: The White Sox announced that they have indeed claimed Garcia off outright waivers. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Liam Hendriks moves from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
1:27pm: The White Sox have claimed right-hander Deivi Garcia off waivers from the Yankees, reports Erik Boland of Newsday. The Yankees had designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week. The teams have not yet announced the move (or, in Chicago’s case, a corresponding 40-man transaction).
Garcia, 24, was considered one of the sport’s top pitching prospects not long ago, ranking on most top-100 lists prior to both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The right-hander blitzed through the lower minors after signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic, reaching the Double-A level as a 19-year-old back in 2018. He had success both in High-A and Double-A the following year before being hit hard in Triple-A, but struggling at the minors’ top level as a 20-year-old facing vastly older competition hardly stood as any kind of red flag.
The canceled 2020 minor league season could well have impacted Garcia more than many other prospects. With no minor league games in which to play, he was rushed to the big leagues as a 21-year-old, turning in a 4.98 ERA in six starts (34 1/3 innings). His 22.6% strikeout rate and 4.1% walk rate were both encouraging, but Garcia was tagged for six home runs in that debut effort and struggled to strand runners once he’d allowed them to reach.
As with his 2019 struggles as one of the youngest players at the Triple-A level, however, Garcia’s lackluster 2020 results weren’t considered particularly damning. Jumping to the big leagues as a 21-year-old with only 40 innings of Triple-A experience is hardly an easy task, and at insofar as his ability to miss bats and limit walks, he more than held his own. The next two years, however, told another story.
From 2021-22, Garcia logged only 8 1/3 big league innings. In 2021, that was at least partially due to a lack of opportunity. The ’21 Yankees received 29 or more starts from each of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon, with another 18 from Domingo German, 16 from Corey Kluber and 14 from Nestor Cortes. There weren’t many extra starts to go around, but Garcia’s performance didn’t necessarily merit much of a look anyway. He was torched for a 6.85 ERA in 90 2/3 innings at Triple-A that season, and his 2022 results weren’t any better; Garcia logged a combined 6.89 ERA in 64 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in ’22. He didn’t pitch in the Majors that season.
It’s been largely the same in 2023. A move to the bullpen in Triple-A hasn’t been much help, evidenced by a 5.67 ERA and sky-high 14.6% walk rate in 48 innings. Garcia allowed just one run in 5 2/3 big league frames earlier in the year, but he did so with more walks issued (four) than strikeouts (three). Command has emerged as a major problem for the right-hander, who’s doled out a free pass to 14.2% of his opponents en route to a 6.52 ERA in 214 career innings at Triple-A.
There were always some concerns about the manner in which Garcia would be able to handle a starter’s workload. Listed at 5’9″ and 165 pounds, he’s considerably slighter in frame than the overwhelming majority of big league starters. Garcia indeed has spent time on the injured list in each of the past three seasons, and his fastball velocity has fluctuated accordingly. He averaged 95.1 mph this year in a pair of relief outings — a notable bump from the 92.1 mph he averaged as a starter in the Majors from 2020-21.
Whether the White Sox plan to use Garcia as a starter or reliever isn’t clear at this point, but he’s spent the bulk of the ’23 season coming out of the Scranton bullpen. For a Chicago team that’s already waved the white flag on the 2023 season, there’s plenty of sense in scooping up a former top prospect and seeing if a change of scenery can do him any good. Garcia is in his final minor league option year, meaning he can be sent to Triple-A for the remainder of the current season without needing to go through waivers. However, he’ll be out of options next spring, so the Sox will need to either keep him on the Opening Day roster or designate him for assignment themselves — if he’s even able to stick on the 40-man roster that long.
The White Sox currently have baseball’s fourth-worst record, which gave them waiver priority over all but three teams. Each of the A’s, Royals and Rockies apparently passed on placing a claim on Garcia. The Rays were among the other teams to place a claim on Garcia today, tweets Boland, though Tampa Bay has the third-best record in MLB (and thus the third-lowest waiver priority).
Astros Notes: Tucker, Abreu, Rotation
The Astros and right fielder Kyle Tucker discussed a long-term contract in the offseason and into spring training, but no deal was reached by the time the season got underway, and general manager Dana Brown noted at the time that negotiations were “paused” for the time being. Brown piqued the fan base’s interest in his weekly appearance on 790 AM’s Sean Salisbury Show that he’s optimistic the two sides will work out a deal and that Tucker will spend his career with the Astros. He later clarified, however, that talks have yet to resume since being put on hold (link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).
The 26-year-old Tucker has delivered in spades both on his lofty draft status (No. 5 overall in 2015) and his top-prospect billing. Already a two-time All-Star and a 2022 Gold Glove winner, he’s in the midst of perhaps the finest season of his exceptional young career. In 113 games and 481 plate appearances, Tucker has slashed .296/.377/.517 with 21 home runs, 28 doubles and 24 stolen bases (in 27 attempts). He’s just one steal shy of last year’s career-high mark, and he’s on pace for his third consecutive 30-homer season. This year’s 11.6% walk rate is easily a career-high mark, while his 12.9% strikeout rate is both a personal low and the ninth-lowest mark among all qualified big league hitters.
Tucker entered the 2023 season with 3.079 years of big league service and will finish at 4.079, leaving him arbitration-eligible for another two seasons. Given his age, draft/prospect pedigree and general excellence to date, there’s little reason to expect any sort of downturn in the near future. Were Tucker to naturally reach free agency by accruing six years of MLB service, he’d do so heading into his age-29 season — and likely in position to command a contract in excess of $200MM.
The Astros haven’t necessarily shied away from large payroll commitments, but they’ve typically preferred to mitigate the length of any high-priced deals. Jose Altuve‘s extension promised him five years and $151MM on top of the remaining two years and $12.5MM on his prior contract. Yordan Alvarez‘s six-year, $115MM contract is the longest handed out under owner Jim Crane. That deal covered all three of Alvarez’s arbitration seasons and three would-be free agent years. Tucker is already playing his first arb year on a $5MM salary and will be due a substantial raise this offseason.
Any extension for Tucker would presumably need to top Alvarez’s deal by a good margin — not only in terms of overall guarantee but in terms of length. The six-year term Alvarez landed would cover Tucker’s age-27 through age-32 seasons and set him up for free agency in advance of his age-33 season. It stands to reason that a player of his caliber would more likely be seeking a deal of eight-plus years in length, particularly now that he’s only two seasons removed from hitting the open market in prime position for a mega-deal.
For now, Brown stressed that the focus is squarely on attempting to overtake the Rangers for the lead in the American League West and to engineer another deep postseason run. Tucker will play a focal part of those efforts, of course, but the ‘Stros were dealt some potentially difficult news regarding another key contributor following last night’s game. Manager Dusty Baker told reporters this morning that first baseman Jose Abreu reported discomfort in his lower back following yesterday’s game (Twitter link via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). He’ll be evaluated further this weekend.
Abreu’s first season in Houston has been a forgettable one overall, but the former Rookie of the Year and MVP looked to be rediscovering his form earlier in the summer. After floundering to a .211/.276/.260 slash through his first two months, Abreu came roaring back with a .288/.330/.484 output over his next 200 plate appearances. While not quite his peak form, that was 22% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+, and Abreu looked well on his way to quieting concerns brought about by his sluggish start to the season.
Unfortunately, his production has cratered once again. Abreu has just three hits in his past 39 trips to the plate and has fanned at an uncharacteristic 28.2% clip in that time. It’s unclear how long his back has been ailing, but the recent downturn after an impressive performance in June and July could well be related to the apparent injury with which he’s dealing. The season-long numbers are still ugly (.234/.291/.343), but losing the June/July version of Abreu is a notable hit to any lineup.
Of course, for as many potent bats as the Houston lineup has featured in recent years, elite starting pitching has been a hallmark of Astros clubs throughout their recent peak. The trade deadline return of Justin Verlander should only help to continue that legacy, but the reacquisition of Verlander won’t necessarily cost someone his spot on the starting staff.
Trezza writes that the Astros are likely to move to a six-man rotation, at least for the time being, keeping rookie right-hander J.P. France in the mix. Calling baseball an “earn-it business,” Baker emphasized that France has indeed earned his spot and will stay on turn moving forward.
It’s hard to argue with that characterization. The 28-year-old France has turned in 95 innings of 2.75 ERA ball since making his big league debut earlier this season, emerging as a godsend in the wake of season-ending injuries to Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia. France has had some modest fortune on balls in play (.277 BABIP) and probably can’t continue stranding 81% of his baserunners — league average is 72% — but he’s looked the part of a solid big league starter even when accounting for some potential regression.
Keeping France in the rotation will have other benefits beyond his own performance. Hunter Brown is nearing last year’s total workload with seven weeks of the season yet to play out. Jose Urquidy just returned from a months-long absence due to a shoulder injury. Cristian Javier has been pitching better of late, but he hit a wall midsummer and had his spot in the rotation skipped heading into the All-Star break. Keeping France on the starting staff alongside Verlander, Brown, Javier, Urquidy and Framber Valdez will help the Astros to manage Brown’s workload and exercise caution, as necessary, with Urquidy and Javier.
Pirates’ Tucupita Marcano To Undergo Season-Ending ACL Surgery
August 10: Marcano underwent successful surgery on August 9, as reported by Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. The utility player is expected to return to full baseball activities in nine to 12 months.
August 3: Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, team director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk announced yesterday (link via Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). A date for the surgery has not yet been set, as Marcano will need to wait for the swelling around the injury to subside before surgeons perform the necessary repair. The team had already placed Marcano on the 60-day injured list but had not yet divulged the full extent of the injury he’d suffered.
Marcano originally sustained the injury more than a week ago when running the bases in a game against the team that originally signed him out of Venezuela back in 2016: the Padres. The now-23-year-old Marcano was one of three prospects traded from San Diego to Pittsburgh in 2021’s Adam Frazier deal. Pirates center fielder Jack Suwinski and minor league righty Michell Miliano also went to the Bucs in that swap.
It’s been a tough couple years in the Majors for Marcano, who’s logged 397 plate appearances with the Pirates but mustered only a .221/.267/.334 batting line in that time. He’s fared quite a bit better in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .274/.359/.401 with 11 homers, 23 doubles, four triples and 16 steals in parts of three seasons (575 plate appearances). He’s also regularly posted excellent walk numbers and low strikeout rates in the minors, showing off the advanced approach and contact skills that surely appealed to the Pirates when acquiring him.
Marcano has played second base, third base, shortstop and both outfield corners for the Pirates in the Majors. The bulk of his professional innings have been split between the two middle infield spots. That’s become an increasingly crowded spot in Pittsburgh — hence the team’s deadline trade of Rodolfo Castro — with Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Alika Williams, Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae all having reached the big league level.
Cruz and Bae are both on the injured list alongside Marcano at the moment, but the Bucs will have a crowded mix of options once the entire group is healthy in 2024. Cruz is slotted to be the everyday shortstop, so the competition for playing time really boils down to who’ll see the bulk of time at second base and who’ll claim some spots on the bench. In that sense, Marcano’s versatility is an advantage, but he’ll obviously need to hit more in the Majors if he’s going to carve out a long-term role on the club.
The Opener: Lorenzen, Crawford, Garcia
As second-half postseason pushes (or, in some cases, collapses) are in full swing, here are three things the baseball world is looking at today…
1. Lorenzen’s historic night:
Michael Lorenzen is the talk of baseball after one-upping his gem of a Phillies debut (eight innings of two-run ball in Miami) with a no-hitter in his Citizens Bank Park debut last night. Lorenzen was wild early on but settled in and blanked the Nationals on 124 pitches — with his family in attendance (video link). Following the game, an emotional Lorenzen discussed the highlight of his career, noting how special it was to achieve that goal after years of questions about whether he can start and to do so in front of a ravenous new fan base that kept him going.
The Phillies have been rolling, with seven wins in their past ten games, moving into the top Wild Card spot in the National League. They’re still a massive 10.5 games back in the division and unlikely to close that gap in the remaining time on the schedule, but the manner in which Lorenzen has reinforced the rotation only further tightens Philadelphia’s grip on a postseason spot. FanGraphs gives the Phillies an 86% chance of reaching the postseason, while Baseball-Reference has them at 89.8%.
2. Crawford tested for concussion symptoms:
Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford is undergoing testing for a possible concussion, manager Scott Servais announced last night (Twitter link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Crawford and third baseman Eugenio Suarez both charged a slow grounder off the bat of Xander Bogaerts in the fourth inning of last night’s game, which resulted in Crawford colliding sharply with Suarez’s shoulder as the latter fielded the grounder and managed to throw out Bogaerts in a close play (video link). Crawford was slow to his feet but remained in the game, but he wasn’t feeling well in the later innings, per Servais.
Crawford, 28, is enjoying the finest offensive season of his career, batting .266/.379/.411 with a personal best 10 home runs on the season already. His 14.8% walk rate is the seventh-best mark in all off baseball among qualified hitters, while that .379 OBP ranks 13th. Were Crawford to miss time, the Mariners would likely turn to rookie Jose Caballero or utilityman Dylan Moore for the majority of reps at shortstop. Seattle is currently riding MLB’s longest active win streak at eight games, and the M’s certainly don’t want any sort of extended absence for one of MLB’s top table-setters.
3. Will someone take a chance on Garcia?
Yankees righty Deivi Garcia, once one of the sport’s top-ranked pitching prospects, was designated for assignment earlier this week after years of struggles both in Triple-A (6.52 ERA in 214 innings) and the Majors (4.84 ERA in 48 1/3 innings). The 24-year-old Garcia ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects heading into both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, having dominated in the lower minors all the way up through Double-A. Questions about the 5’9″ righty’s ability to maintain a starter’s workload were always present, even as scouts continued to be impressed by the quality of his arsenal. It’s been a steep fall for Garcia over the past few seasons, however, and he’ll now be available to all 29 other clubs.
Technically, teams have five days to place a player on waivers following a DFA, but with trades no longer allowed for any player who’s been on a Major League roster, the majority of August DFAs have been resolved within a matter of days. There’s a good chance we’ll find out today or tomorrow whether any team wants to take a chance on the formerly lauded prospect. Garcia is in his final option year, so he can be freely sent to the minors for the remainder of the current season but will need to crack a new team’s Opening Day roster in 2024 or else be designated for assignment.