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Marlins Reinstate Jose Urena

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The Marlins announced a number of roster moves today. Infielder Eddy Alvarez was optioned to the team’s alternate training site, Harold Ramirez was transferred to the 60-day IL, and Jose Urena was reinstated from the IL.

Alvarez, 30, was an medal-winning Olympian in a past life, but the former speed skater slashed just .189/.268/.216 in his first stint with the Marlins. While playing all over the infield, Alvarez managed to steal a couple of bases, but a strikeout rate of 39% slowed his offensive progress and relegated him to the team’s alternate training site for the near-term.

Ramirez only appeared in 3 games this year before a strained hamstring sent him to the injured list. The 25-year-old established himself as a useful player last season with a triple slash of .276/.312/.416. It wasn’t necessarily a standout season, but enough to get a look this season, had he been healthy. Ramirez’s future is probably as an extra outfielder because of his ability to play all three outfield spots. Starling Marte now mans the middle, and Ramirez doesn’t likely holster enough thunder to provide regular ABs in the corner.

The Marlins are on the verge of a playoff spot as of today, but they remain percentage points behind the Giants. Getting Urena back from the COVID-19 injured list should provide a boost to their pitching corps. The right-hander will step right back into the rotation today to take on the Braves. Urena has been a starter for most of his Miami tenure, though he was moved to the bullpen at the end of last season where he was used primarily to finish games.

Urena holds a 4.57 ERA /4.69 FIP for his career, but he’s usually been either a tick better or worse than those averages. The Dominican righty looked sharp from 2017 to 2018 over which time he went 23-19 in 59 starts with a 3.90 ERA. While he was able to outperform his FIP for each of those seasons, his fortunes reveresed last year when he put up a 5.21 ERA despite a marginally-better 4.74 FIP. His strikeout-to-walk numbers have shown modest improvement from his younger days, though the biggest jump came during the 2018 season when he posted 6.7 K/9 to 2.6 BB/9 for a 2.55 K/BB.

For now, at least, it appears Urena will fill out the rotation alongside Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez, and Trevor Rogers. Assuming Urena can return to form, the Marlins suddenly boast a potentially formidable starting five. The remaining few weeks of the season provide a stretch of baseball that should test their mettle, as they have little more than three weeks to find their way past the Giants to earn their first playoff berth since 2003.

Injury Updates: Hamels, Soler, Rays, Ramirez, Yankees

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Cole Hamels will throw a live batting practice session on Sunday, as the injury-plagued southpaw might yet still have a chance to factor into the 2020 season.  Braves manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters that “We’re just looking to get through a couple live BPs and see how he is,” perhaps wisely not setting even a speculative timeline given that Hamels battled shoulder issues during Spring Training and is currently on the 45-day injured list recovering from left triceps tendinitis.  Bowman speculates that Hamels likely won’t start pitching in simulated games until next weekend at the earliest, so the left-hander might not be able to join the Braves until roughly the last 7-10 days of the regular season.

It makes Hamels into a total wild card for Atlanta’s playoff drive, though with the club looking to have a good shot at the postseason, it isn’t out of the question that Hamels could be part of a playoff roster.  Having a former World Series MVP coming out of the bullpen would be quite an interesting wrinkle for Atlanta, though Hamels has only worked as a reliever twice in his 439 career games in the regular season and postseason.

Some more injury situations from around baseball…

  • Jorge Soler left tonight’s game due to what the Royals described as right oblique soreness.  This is the second time in four days that Soler has exited a game due to such an injury, and perhaps on a related note, Soler is hitless over his last eight plate appearances.  Soler has been a few steps behind his big 2019 numbers this season, though he is still hitting a solid .237/.333/.459 with eight homers over 159 PA.
  • The Rays have been plagued by pitching injuries this season, and two more hurlers ran into potential issues on Saturday.  Newly-acquired southpaw Cody Reed left tonight’s game during the eighth inning with an injury to his pinkie, though manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Jose Toribio (Twitter links) that the problem doesn’t appear to be serious.  The news isn’t as good for left-hander Shane McClanahan, as the prospect will miss around two weeks after suffering a hyper-extended left knee during a fielding play at the Rays’ alternate training site.  The 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft, McClanahan got some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball American prior to the season, and there was some speculation Tampa Bay might give the 23-year-old his first taste of big league action sometime in September.
  • Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez had to be carted off the field tonight after suffering what the club described as a left hamstring strain.  Ramirez suffered the injury while trying to beat out a grounder during the fifth inning of Miami’s 7-3 win over Tampa Bay.  Playing in just his third game of the season, Ramirez was only activated off the injured list today, as he was one of the many Marlins players sidelined after positive COVID-19 tests.
  • Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera) with updates on injured sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, saying that Judge will increase his baseball-activity work on Monday.  Stanton, who Boone feels is “a little ahead of Judge” in terms of readiness, has already been taking part in baseball activities and is now running at 80 percent as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.

Brandon Kintzler Drawing Trade Interest

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Marlins closer Brandon Kintzler is drawing trade interest, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, but with Miami still vying for a surprise postseason bid, it’s unlikely that he’ll be moved at this point. More likely candidates to be dealt by the Marlins are lefty Caleb Smith and righty Jose Urena, per Heyman. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro also lists Urena and Smith as players who “possibly could” be moved, adding outfielder Harold Ramirez to that tier.

The 36-year-old Kintzler is having a fairly typical season: tons of grounders, few strikeouts and very few walks. In 12 1/3 frames with Miami, he’s posted a 2.92 ERA with seven punchouts (5.1 K/9), three walks (2.2 BB/9) and a huge 59.5 percent ground-ball rate. Since establishing himself as a big leaguer back in 2013, Kintzler has only turned in a grounder rate south of 54 percent in one season, when he put up a 49.7 percent mark in 2018. His career 56.3 percent rate is tied for 37th among 499 qualified relievers since his MLB debut.

Kintzler is playing out the 2020 season on a one-year, $3.25MM contract, but that pact contains a reasonable $4MM option for the 2021 season, so he’s not a strict rental. This year’s $3MM base salary — the option has a $250K buyout — is prorated to about $1.08MM, and he’s still owed roughly $452K of that sum over the remaining four weeks.

Urena, meanwhile, has been a rumored trade candidate for a year or so now. He’s yet to pitch in 2020 after being among the team’s 18 players to test positive for the coronavirus, and he didn’t throw especially well in 2019, when he turned in a 5.21 ERA and 4.74 FIP in 84 2/3 frames. Urena, though, has had success as a starter — 3.90 ERA in 343 2/3 innings from 2017-18 — and is controllable through the 2021 season. He’s a non-tender candidate with the Marlins this winter, so perhaps another club could get a month-long look at him for a relatively negligible return.

The 29-year-old Smith is controlled all the way through 2023 and is a more interesting target for pitching-hungry clubs. He’s missed bats in droves since being acquired from the Yankees prior to the 2018 season, fanning 259 hitters in 233 2/3 innings as a Marlin. He’s also been plagued by injuries in that time, though, including a brutal Grade 3 lat strain in 2018 and a hip injury that cost him just shy of a month last year. Smith was placed on the injured list earlier this month after the Marlins’ Covid-19 outbreak and has pitched just three innings so far. He looked rusty, issuing six free passes in that time. Overall, he has a 4.39 ERA and 10.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in his time with Miami.

Ramirez, 25, has yet to return since the team’s outbreak but posted a solid .276/.312/.416 batting line with 11 homers, 20 doubles and three triples in 446 plate appearances with the Fish a year ago. He’s controlled all the way through the 2025 season, leaving no urgency to move him, but Miami has quite a few corner-outfield alternatives. Corey Dickerson is signed through 2021, while Brian Anderson has proven capable of oscillating between right field and third base. The Marlins have gotten initial looks at Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez this year, and they still have Garrett Cooper, Lewis Brinson and Magneuris Sierra in the outfield picture as well.

Multiple Marlins Players Reportedly Test Positive For COVID-19

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12:30pm: First baseman Garrett Cooper and outfielder Harold Ramirez are also among the Marlins who have tested positive, according to Robert Murray and Jon Heyman of MLB Network. And since these results were discovered on the road, the Marlins find themselves in an unfortunate position; Cooper and the other players will have to quarantine in their Philadelphia hotel for about two weeks and, for the time being, are unable to travel back to Miami with the rest of their team. From a purely baseball perspective, the news represents a considerable blow to the Marlins’ depth: Between Alfaro, Cooper, and Ramirez, they’re losing three regulars, not to mention a key piece of the rotation in Ureña.

11:32 am: “Multiple” Miami players are dealing with COVID-19 issues, tweets Craig Mish of Sportsgrid. Heyman hears the same, tweeting that two of the club’s starting position players have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Catcher Jorge Alfaro was placed on the injured list for an undisclosed reason Friday, although it remains unclear if he is among those who have tested positive.

11:08 am: Marlins right-hander José Ureña was scratched from today’s scheduled start, as noted by various reporters (including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Ureña tested positive for COIVD-19, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Fortunately, Ureña “feels fine,” Heyman adds, but this is simply the latest reminder of the threat the coronavirus continues to pose to players and teams leaguewide.

Even if Ureña remains asymptomatic, he’ll need to twice test negative at least 24 hours apart before he’s permitted to return to the club. Miami has not yet made any roster moves related to the situation, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. With there being no minimum length for stints on the COVID-19 injured list, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Miami decide to place Ureña on the IL, even if they believe he’ll be ready to return in short order.

Ureña is ticketed for a return to the Miami rotation after splitting last year between the starting staff and the bullpen. Right-hander Robert Dugger, who started seven games for Miami down the stretch last season, will take the ball in Ureña’s stead this afternoon against the Phillies.

Marlins Notes: Villar, Urena, Outfield, Boxberger

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The Marlins were impressed by Jonathan Villar’s work in center field prior to last week’s abrupt shutdown of Spring Training, writes Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. President of baseball operations Michael Hill tells McPherson that Villar looked “pretty natural” in the outfield, praising the speedster’s reads and his “natural glide to the ball.” The Marlins have “no reservations” about installing Villar as their primary center fielder whenever the season does get underway — a move that’d allow them to slot Brian Anderson in at third base, Miguel Rojas at shortstop and Isan Diaz at second base. Barring an extension, Villar is a short-term addition for the Miami organization. He’ll reach free agency next winter, and a year of even average glovework in center field would substantially bolster his stock, as would an approximation of 2019’s strong .274/.339/.453 slash (with 24 homers and 40 steals).

More notes out of Miami…

  • Jose Urena went from 2019 Opening Day starter to trade candidate to non-tender candidate over the course of a year, but Miami opted to keep him and seems happy to have done so. Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets that the Marlins were “itching” to see more of the 28-year-old, who revamped his delivery and his slider in the offseason. Urena yielded just two runs on 13 hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 14 spring frames before exhibition play was halted. If he’s able to carry some of that success into the regular season, he’ll quickly emerge as a trade commodity. The Marlins only control Urena through the 2021 season, so their window to move him is narrowing. And his $3.75MM salary makes him affordable for just about any club that has a need to add to the starting staff. Urena missed nearly three months with a back strain in 2019, posted a 5.21 ERA in 82 1/3 innings when on the active roster and at one point lost his rotation spot. But in the two prior seasons, the righty notched a solid 3.90 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 343 2/3 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro runs through a number of the position battles that were taking shape in Marlins camp prior to the stoppage of play. Notably, Frisaro writes that veteran outfielder Matt Joyce is in line to start about three times a week in right field, with one of Harold Ramirez, Lewis Brinson, Garrett Cooper or Monte Harrison possibly getting the nod on the other side of a timeshare. Veteran Matt Kemp, in camp on a non-roster deal, is viewed more as a potential bench bat. In the bullpen, Frisaro notes that veteran Brad Boxberger (also on a minor league pact) was “tracking toward” a spot on the roster. Mish heard similar things, tweeting last week that Boxberger was “close to a lock” to make the roster as a setup man to expected closer Brandon Kintzler.

Quick Hits: Braves, Keuchel, Rangers, Calhoun, Yanks, Giants, Rays

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Reports have pegged the Braves as one of the favorites to sign free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, but David O’Brien of The Athletic throws cold water on that possibility. The Braves have inquired about Keuchel and do have interest in him, per O’Brien, though he writes their interest has been “overstated.” Atlanta has not engaged in deep negotiations with Keuchel, O’Brien adds. The latest from O’Brien jibes with a Tuesday report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who wrote that the Braves are “uncomfortable” with the idea of paying Keuchel the prorated value of the $17.9MM qualifying offer (approximately $11.5MM).

  • Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun landed on the 10-day IL on May 22 with a left quadriceps strain. It turns out the injury will likely keep him out of their lineup until at least late June, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests. The 24-year-old Calhoun, a former top 100 prospect, was amid an encouraging season before he went to the IL. Not only did Calhoun hit .304/.416/.557 with eight home runs and more walks (22) than strikeouts (19) in 138 Triple-A plate appearances, but he got off to a .435/.458/.739 start with a pair of HRs in 24 major league PA.
  • The Yankees and Giants were among the many teams that showed interest in outfielder Harold Ramirez during his brief stay on the open market last offseason, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Blue Jays outrighted Ramirez on Nov. 20, and he ended up signing a minor league deal with the Marlins exactly a week later. The 24-year-old has since given the offensively challenged Marlins some much-needed production, having slashed .346/.386/.449 (128 wRC+) in 83 plate appearances.
  • Rays outfielder Tommy Pham has been out since May 30 with a strained right calf, but it appears he’ll avoid an IL stint. The club expects to plug Pham back into its lineup Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays. Pham’s enjoying his third straight prodigious campaign at the plate, with a .300/.414/.483 (145 wRC+) line, eight home runs and 38 walks against 43 strikeouts in 244 attempts.

Marlins To Select Contract Of Harold Ramirez

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The Marlins will select the contract of outfielder Harold Ramirez, according to Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). The corresponding move and precise timing isn’t yet known.

Ramirez, now 24, once owned a 40-man roster spot with the Pirates and Blue Jays but never made it onto the active roster before being outrighted. He was a widely pursued minor-league free agent this winter after a solid effort last year at Double-A. Ramirez followed that with a strong showing in the Venezuelan Winter League and has kept the good vibes going since.

Ramirez elected not to opt out of his deal with the club this spring despite not making the active roster. There’s little reason for the Fish not to give Ramirez a look at this point. After turning in 120 plate appearances of .355/.408/.591 hitting at Triple-A, Ramirez is an easy choice for a club that is receiving next to nothing from its outfield unit.

Bryan Holaday, Pedro Alvarez Opt Out Of Marlins Deals

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8:50pm: First baseman Pedro Alvarez has also opted out of his deal, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, who adds that outfielder Harold Ramirez will not exercise his out clause. Both Holaday and Alvarez have 48 hours to decide whether to go to Triple-A New Orleans, Frisaro notes. Alvarez has raked this spring with a .324/.400/.647 line in 34 at-bats, but the former star prospect hasn’t been much better than a league-average hitter across 3,321 major league PAs with the Pirates and Orioles. The 32-year-old struggled mightily across 127 PAs in Baltimore last season, when he hit a meager .180/.283/.414.

5:17pm: The Marlins are releasing catcher Bryan Holaday, who exercised the opt-out in his minor league contract, per Craig Mish of SiriusXM.

Holaday spent the 2018 campaign in Miami serving as the primary backup to star J.T. Realmuto, whom the team traded to the Phillies in the offseason. With Realmuto out of the picture, Holaday has been competing with Chad Wallach to work as a reserve behind Jorge Alfaro this season. But it appears Wallach has won the battle over Holaday, who hit .276/.364/.310 in 29 at-bats during spring training. That was an improvement over the .205/.261/.258 line Holaday authored over 166 PAs last year with the Marlins.

Offensive issues have been the norm for the 31-year-old Holaday, a .234/.274/.320 hitter in 606 PAs, though he has held his own at times behind the plate. Just last year, Holaday threw out a league-leading 45 percent of would-be base stealers (17 of 38) and, per Baseball Prospectus, offered above-average marks as a pitch framer and blocker.

Quick Hits: Mets, deGrom, A. Jones, Marlins, Jays

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A few notes from around the game…

  • The Mets and right-hander Jacob deGrom began discussing a contract extension in December, but the two sides haven’t exchanged any offers yet, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. DeGrom, who’s controllable through 2020, is on track to enter camp on the $17MM salary he secured upon avoiding arbitration earlier this month. It stands to reason, however, that the team and player will engage in more substantive talks prior to the season. If serious negotiations take place, they’ll be particularly interesting to monitor given that deGrom’s previous agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, is now the Mets’ general manager. Van Wagenen challenged the Mets to either extend or consider trading deGrom last season, but the club’s previous front office didn’t bite in either case. The rookie GM will now have to help decide how much the team should pay his ex-client over the long haul.
  • Interest in free-agent outfielder Adam Jones has picked up, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggests. It’s unclear which teams are chasing Jones, but rumors centering on the longtime Baltimore center fielder have been scarce this winter. Although he’s a highly respected veteran, the 33-year-old Jones’ halcyon days appear long gone. Jones may no longer be a viable option in center, where he posted minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-10.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2018, and has only been a league-average offensive player in 1,920 plate appearances dating back to 2016.
  • Before he signed a minor league contract with the Marlins in November, Harold Ramirez received offers from 15 teams, the outfielder tells Walter Villa of Baseball America (subscription required). The Blue Jays, with whom Ramirez played at the Double-A level from 2016-18, offered the largest bonus ($32K), but he accepted the Marlins’ $25K proposal because he believes they present a more immediate path to the majors. In fact, the Marlins informed Ramirez that only one of their outfielders, Lewis Brinson, is a lock for a major league roster spot in 2019. Considering the dearth of established outfielders on hand, the 24-year-old Ramirez – formerly a well-regarded prospect – will have an opportunity to vie for a big league job with the Marlins.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/27/18

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We’ll track today’s minor moves from around the league here…

  • The Cardinals announced yesterday that right-hander Derian Gonzalez has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. The 23-year-old pitched to a 3.51 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB.9 across three levels (Rookie, Double-A, Triple-A) in 33 1/3 innings during an injury-shortened 2018 season. That marked the first action in either Double-A or Triple-A for Gonzalez.
  • Left-hander Hoby Milner cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’ll head to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in hopes of once again cracking the roster. The 27-year-old Milner (28 in January) owns a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 big league innings, but there’s a fair bit of smoke and mirrors at play in that regard. Milner has just 7.0 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in the Majors and has stranded an unsustainable 86.2 percent of the runners he’s put on base. Fielding-independent metrics cast a much less favorable picture than his ERA (5.30 FIP, 5.65 xFIP, 5.07 SIERA). To his credit, Milner has held lefties to a laughable .177/.292/.277 slash through 98 plate appearances.
  • The Marlins announced that right-hander Ben Meyer and outfielder Braxton Lee have both cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans and Double-A Jacksonville, repsectively. The 25-year-old Meyer made his MLB debut in 2018 but was hammered for 22 runs in 19 innings. The 2017 season was much better for the righty, as he worked to a 2.02 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 111 1/3 innings — albeit against much younger competition between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. Lee, meanwhile won a Double-A batting title in 2017 but hit just .233/.316/.294 across three minor league levels in 2018 in addition to a weak showing in a brief MLB debut of his own (18 plate appearances). Lee received plus grades for his speed and above-average marks for his outfield defense in the past but has never shown any power.
  • The Marlins have signed outfielder Harold Ramirez to a minor league contract, per John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Ramirez spent a third consecutive season at the Double-A level in 2018 and put together a strong campaign, hitting .320/.365/.471 with 11 homers, 37 doubles and 16 steals in 505 trips to the plate. Ramirez was once considered to be on the fringes of the game’s top 100 prospects, but his stock has dipped in recent seasons — particularly in 2017 (.678 OPS in his second full season of Double-A ball).
  • Australian righty Todd Van Steensel tweeted last night that he’s signed a minor league pact with the Padres. The 27-year-old has spent the past six seasons in the Twins organization, where he’s topped out at the Double-A level. Van Steensel has a career 2.11 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 110 2/3 innings at that level, with all but two of his 66 Double-A appearances coming out of the bullpen.
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