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NL Roster Moves: Marlins, Rogers, Reds, Santillan, Phillies, Haseley, De Los Santos

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Marlins’ breakout starter Trevor Rogers has been placed on the injured list without an injury designation, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). It’s safe to assume the move relates to COVID-19 in some form or fashion, though speculatively speaking, it could be that Rogers is dealing with side effects from the vaccine. McPherson notes that the injured list stint is not expected to be long. That’s obviously welcome news for the Marlins, given Rogers performance in 13 starts this season. The 23-year-old rookie has logged 75 2/3 stellar innings with a 2.02 ERA/2.56 FIP.

In the meantime, Preston Guilmet had his contract selected, and he has been added to the active roster. The 33-year-old has not appeared in the Majors since 2018. He owns a 9.27 career ERA in 33 innings dating back to his 2013 debut with the Indians. Guilmet has also seen game action with the Orioles, Rays, Brewers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays. Elsewhere in the National League…

  • The Reds have recalled reliever Tony Santillan from Triple-A Louisville this morning, per the team. Santillan, 24, will make his Major League debut if he gets in a game. Fangraphs ranked him as the Reds’ 14th-ranked prospect at the start of this season, while Baseball America has him as high as ninth, noting some late-game potential for Santillan down the line.
  • The Phillies recalled Enyel De Los Santos from Triple-A, optioning catcher Rafael Marcan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per the team. Outfielder Adam Haseley was also reinstated from the restricted list and optioned to Triple-A.

Injury Notes: Antone, Rosenthal, Sanchez, Owings

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve placed righty Tejay Antone on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm. The team is hopeful that it’ll be a minimum stint for Antone, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. Even a 10-day absence for Antone is a blow to the Reds, however, given how excellent he’s been out of the ’pen this season. Antone looked to have put together a breakout year in 2020, but he’s taken things even further in his age-27 campaign this year. The right-hander has tallied 32 innings out of the bullpen and recorded a brilliant 1.41 ERA to go along with a 34.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.5 percent walk rate. Antone regularly works multiple innings and has picked up three saves to go along with seven holds.

After non-tendering Archie Bradley and dumping Raisel Iglesias’ salary in a deal with the Angels, the Reds have seen their bullpen pitch to an MLB-worst 5.88 ERA. That sky-high mark comes in spite of Antone’s dominance; the Reds’ other relievers have combined for a disastrous 6.58 ERA in 203 2/3 innings so far.

A few more notable injury situations around the league…

  • The Athletics are still hopeful that Trevor Rosenthal will be able to pitch for the team this season, writes Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Oakland currently has a mid-August target for Rosenthal, who developed thoracic outlet symptoms this spring after signing a surprising one-year, $11MM deal with the A’s. He underwent surgery prior to Opening Day, and while he’s not yet throwing, Rosenthal is progressing through a strength program. The Oakland bullpen has been a middle-of-the-pack unit so far in 2021, pitching to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.79 FIP. A’s relievers have the game’s lowest collective strikeout rate (20.5 percent) but also have one of the best walk rates (8.6 percent). Prior to their deal with Rosenthal, the A’s seemed to target relievers who were underpriced due to sub-par strikeout rates but also thrived in terms of limiting hard contact. To this point, the bullpen’s 34.5 percent hard-hit rate is the third-lowest in MLB.
  • Marlins starter Sixto Sánchez has resumed his rehab program, as he’s now throwing from 60 feet, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to pass along. Sánchez, who went down with shoulder inflammation in early April, had his throwing program paused last week on account of bursitis. He’s yet to pitch this season after tossing 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.
  • Rockies utilityman Chris Owings is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). He’s already progressed to taking batting practice. Owings, who signed a minor league deal over the winter, made the Opening Day roster and got off to a scorching start over his first seven games. Unfortunately, he suffered a left thumb injury that required surgery in mid-April, keeping him out of action for more than two months.

Marlins Notes: Benintendi, Berti, Contreras, Anderson, Sanchez

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Adam Duvall, whom the Marlins signed to a one-year, $5MM deal on February 9, has slotted in as Miami’s primary right fielder this season. Evidently, the front office also discussed the possibility of filling that position via a trade for then-Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi. In early February (presumably before signing Duvall), the Marlins discussed a potential three-team deal, also involving Boston and the Padres, that would’ve sent Benintendi to Miami, report Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Utilityman Jon Berti would have gone to San Diego had that deal been finalized, per Jackson and Mish, but the Marlins eventually backed out of the arrangement. Benintendi, whom the Red Sox wound up trading to the Royals instead, has hit a solid .284/.342/.412 in Kansas City. Duvall, on the other hand, is off to a poor .207/.254/.410 start. Given those respective performances, it’s easy to conclude in retrospect the Marlins should’ve pushed harder for Benintendi, although it’s impossible to malign the front office without knowing precisely who else the club would’ve had to part with to push those talks over the finish line.

More out of Miami:

  • Jackson and Mish also shed some light on another set of Marlins offseason trade discussions: their previously-reported pursuit of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. Any deal sending Contreras to Miami likely would’ve sent Jorge Alfaro the other way, with prospects Peyton Burdick and Zach McCambley among the other players who might’ve gone to Chicago. Ultimately, the Cubs held onto Contreras, who has a .245/.341/.435 line for the current NL Central leaders.
  • Turning to players who are on the roster, Jackson and Mish report that injured third baseman Brian Anderson looks likely to avoid surgery. Placed on the injured list late last month because of a left shoulder subluxation, Anderson has progressed to taking on range of motion drills and could return before the end of June. One of Miami’s best players between 2018-20, Anderson has come out of the gates a little slower in 2021, hitting .250/.316/.371 over his first 136 plate appearances.
  • Miami has been without prized righty Sixto Sánchez all season on account of shoulder problems. Sánchez’s throwing program was shut down last week after he suffered a setback, although general manager Kim Ng tells reporters (including Mish) that issue was unrelated to Sánchez’s initial inflammation. Rather, the flamethrowing 22-year-old is now suffering from bursitis. It’s still not clear when the Marlins can expect Sánchez back, a disappointing development after he began his MLB career with 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.

No Extension Talks Between Marlins, Starling Marte

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5:30pm: Although he’d be one of the best outfielders available on the open market this winter, Marte tells Mish that his preference would be to forgo free agency entirely and sign an extension with the Marlins (Twitter link). Marte says he’d prefer to spend the remainder of his career with Miami and hopes the team will approach him about a long-term deal.

8:31am: With the trade deadline less than two months away and free agency looming just beyond that, the Marlins haven’t discussed a potential extension with center fielder Starling Marte, general manager Kim Ng told reporters yesterday (Twitter link via Craig Mish of the Miami Herald).

Between the lack of extension talks and a recent swan dive in the standings for Miami, the 32-year-old Marte looks increasingly like one of the game’s likelier trade candidates as that July 30 deadline approaches. Marte missed about a month with a broken rib earlier this season, but he’s enjoyed one of the most productive runs of an already terrific career so far in 2021 when he’s been healthy enough to take the field.

In 110 plate appearances, Marte has raked at a .337/.436/.554 clip with four homers, six doubles, a triple and six stolen bases. He’s also walked at a 12.7 percent clip that is far and away a career-best mark. His chase rate on pitches off the plate (33 percent) is tied for a career-low, and his contact rate on balls off the plate when he does swing is a career-best (64 percent). From a defensive standpoint, Marte has ranked anywhere from average to slightly above, at least from a statistical standpoint (0 Defensive Runs Saved, 0.5 Ultimate Zone Rating, two Outs Above Average).

As of this writing, Marte is still owed about $7.9MM of this season’s $12.5MM salary between now and the end of the year. That $12.5MM salary was a sizable sum for the perennially low-payroll Marlins to absorb when they acquired him at last year’s trade deadline, but it’s an eminently reasonable (if not bargain) price for a player of Marte’s caliber and one that could be more easily stomached by a club with even a mid-range payroll.

The low-spending Marlins may not want to risk a qualifying offer for Marte at season’s end. Even though he’d very likely reject such an offer, assuming good health, that number figures to check in around the $19MM range this winter — a number that represents 30 percent of this year’s roughly $63MM Marlins payroll. If Marte did reject, Miami would then receive a compensatory pick after the first round if (or when) he signed elsewhere. In order to trade Marte, the Fish would need to feel they were receiving more (or at least comparable) value than they’d net with a comp pick in the 2022 draft.

There are very few center-field options on the market but multiple clubs in need of an upgrade in center, which should bode well for the Marlins if they do ultimately put Marte on the market. A pair of those clubs, the Phillies and Mets, are in the Marlins’ own division, which could complicate matters a bit. Others, including the Yankees and Astros, are on the precipice of the luxury-tax barrier and have been unwilling to cross that threshold in 2021. Miami could, of course, offer to pay down some or even all of Marte’s remaining salary in order to eliminate that risk for a trade partner; by doing so, the Marlins would be able to justify a higher asking price in return for a rental of Marte’s services before he hits the open market.

It’s been less than a year since the Marlins acquired Marte from the D-backs in a trade that sent lefty Caleb Smith and minor league right-hander Humberto Mejia to Arizona. The Marlins registered as somewhat of a surprise landing spot, given Arizona’s financial motivations for trading Marte away and Miami’s annual payroll constraints. He’s batted .289/.362/.482 overall with the Marlins and was part of the team’s surprising playoff push last year, and the Marlins will now likely recoup either a nice prospect return in a trade or a notable pick in the 2022 draft.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/6/21

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A couple of minor moves from around the league:

  • Marlins infielder Luis Marté has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Marté was designated for assignment earlier this week when the club reinstated Elieser Hernández from the 60-day injured list. (Unfortunately, Hernández has subsequently gone back on the IL.) Marté officially debuted in the big leagues by appearing in one game with Miami, and he’ll now return to Triple-A, where he’s hitting .263/.279/.456 this season.
  • The Giants acquired minor league catcher Bruce Maxwell from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations, the two clubs announced. He’ll be assigned to Double-A Richmond, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Maxwell spent parts of the 2016-18 seasons across the Bay, appearing in 127 games with the A’s and posting a .240/.314/.347 line over 412 plate appearances at the MLB level. Maxwell signed a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason, so he won’t require a 40-man roster spot. He’d only picked up 31 plate appearances for the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse.

Marlins Place Cody Poteet On 10-Day IL, Elieser Hernandez Moved To 60-Day IL

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The Marlins announced a series of moves this afternoon, including the placement of right-hander Cody Poteet on the 10-day injured list due to a right MCL sprain.  (The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson was among those to report the news.)  Right-hander Zach Thompson’s contract was selected from Triple-A to take Poteet’s spot on the active roster, and a 40-man roster spot was created when Elieser Hernandez was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Hernandez went to the 10-day IL just yesterday because of a right quad strain, though the Marlins specified today that Hernandez’s injury was “severe” in nature.  Hernandez will now be out of action until at least early August, and given the apparent seriousness of the injury, it is fair to speculate whether or not the right-hander could possibly be out of action for the remainder of the season.

Poteet’s injury only adds to an increasingly short-handed pitching situation for Miami.  Due to the absence of Hernandez and Sixto Sanchez, Poteet got an opportunity for his MLB debut and was making the most of it, with a 3.75 ERA/4.42 SIERA over five starts and 24 innings.  Despite a below-average 22.1% strikeout rate, Poteet was using some elite curveball spin to outperform his overall middling Statcast numbers.  At the very least, Poteet was doing enough to doing enough to solidify his spot in the rotation before injury struck yesterday, and he was forced out of the 9-2 loss to the Pirates after only 2 2/3 innings.

Trevor Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez have been a solid top three for the Marlins’ rotation, but there is now a major void with both Poteet and Hernandez out of action.  Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano are both at Triple-A and might be the most logical options for the moment, considering that many of Miami’s top starting candidates are still recovering from injury.

Jordan Holloway might not be too far away, as he is expected to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment tonight.  A groin injury sent Holloway to the 10-day IL on May 22, and he has already made two starts in a piggyback capacity this season.  Marlins manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the plan is to build Holloway’s workload up to 75-90 pitches so he can potentially be used as a starter when his rehab assignment is over.

Given all this rotation uncertainty, it isn’t surprising that the Marlins are looking for some external pitching help, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. told McPherson (Twitter links) and other reporters.  The team would prefer to add an experienced arm rather than prematurely force their pitching prospects up to the majors for fill-in duty.

Sanchez has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder discomfort, and his rehab was recently halted after he felt discomfort between bullpen sessions.  Stottlemyre didn’t shed much light on when Sanchez might continue on the road to recovery, saying, “Some of the things that he was doing before got better, but there’s still a stall in his program.  I’m not going to tell you he’s hurt, but it’s not time to move forward with rehab starts yet.”

Thompson was a starter earlier in his minor league career, but considering he hasn’t started a game since 2017, it’s safe to assume the righty will head to Miami’s bullpen as he seems set to make his Major League debut.  A fifth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2014 draft, Thompson has a 4.11 ERA over 519 career frames in the minors, which includes a 6.60 ERA over 15 innings at Triple-A Jacksonville this season.  Thompson has allowed four homers in those 15 innings to inflate his ERA, and his other peripherals (21 strikeouts and two walks) are otherwise quite impressive.

Marlins Place Elieser Hernandez On 10-Day IL

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2:15PM: Hernandez has indeed been placed on the 10-day injured list, with outfielder Lewis Brinson called up to take his spot on the active roster.

8:08AM: Marlins right-hander Elieser Hernandez left last night’s game due to a right quad strain suffered while running the bases.  In the sixth inning of Miami’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates yesterday, Hernandez ran home from third base on an RBI grounder from Jesus Aguilar, but Hernandez fell to the ground after crossing the plate and had to be helped off the field.

The injury cut short a strong start (five innings, one ER on three hits, six strikeouts and no walks) for Hernandez, and it was his first outing since a two-month stint on the injured list due to biceps inflammation.  Hernandez will undergo some more tests today, but manager Don Mattingly indicated to MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the righty is probably headed back to the IL.

In a Miami organization with several intriguing arms, Hernandez has already enjoyed some success at the big league level.  After a lackluster 5.11 ERA over 148 innings in 2018-19, Hernandez posted a 3.16 ERA and an above-average 32.1% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate over six starts and 25 2/3 innings in 2020.  Unfortunately, injuries have now curtailed his ability to follow up on that semi-breakout, and Hernandez could now be facing another pretty lengthy absence depending on the severity of his quad strain.

Between Hernandez’s injury and the recent shutdown of Sixto Sanchez’s throwing program, it may yet be a while before the Marlins have their full starting five intact.  Trevor Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez have all pitched well, and rookie right-hander Cody Poteet has recently emerged as a viable option for the back end of the rotation.  Miami has until Tuesday to figure out who could take Hernandez’s next start, and De Nicola notes that Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano are possibilities since Jordan Holloway and Nick Neidert are still on the injured list.  The Marlins have also used openers on multiple occasions this season, though it remains to be seen if the team would regularly use an opener every fifth day.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/3/21

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The latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired right-hander Tyler Jones from the Marlins, completing the teams’ December deal that sent Rule 5 draft pick Zach Pop to Miami. The Marlins selected Jones in the 26th round of the 2018 draft. He’d struggled to a 6.83 ERA over three seasons at Wichita State, but he’s been much more productive in pro ball. The 25-year-old has a 2.02 mark in 40 appearances (eight starts) in the low minors, punching out an impressive 27.8% of opposing hitters.

Marlins Activate Elieser Hernandez, Designate Luis Marte

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The Marlins announced they’ve reinstated right-hander Elieser Hernández from the 60-day injured list to start tonight’s game against the Pirates. Infielder Luis Marté was designated for assignment to open active and 40-man roster spots.

Hernández hasn’t pitched since April 3. He left that start, his first of the year, with biceps inflammation that ultimately required a two-month absence. It was a disappointing beginning to the year for a hurler who earned himself a season-opening rotation spot with a quietly stellar 2020 campaign. Hernández made six starts for the Fish last season and worked to a 3.16 ERA over 25 2/3 innings, backed up by excellent strikeout and walk rates (32.1% and 4.7%, respectively).

Despite the absences of Hernández and Sixto Sánchez (who hasn’t pitched all year because of recurring shoulder discomfort), Miami’s rotation has been among the better groups in the league. Marlins starters rank eighth in MLB in ERA (3.38), with middle-of-the-pack placements in SIERA (4.07) and strikeout rate minus walk rate (15.4 percentage points). Pablo López, Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Rogers have each been quite good, while rookie Cody Poteet has put together four strong starts since making his MLB debut last month. In spite of that quality production, the Marlins sit in fourth place in the NL East at 24-30 thanks to some offensive struggles.

Marté was selected to the roster last week when starting shortstop Miguel Rojas went on the injured list. The 27-year-old utilityman made his MLB debut on Monday against the Blue Jays, going 0-2 with a walk. The Marlins will now have a week to trade Marté or place him on outright waivers in hopes of sending him back to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he’s hit .263/.279/.456 in 61 plate appearances this year.

Miguel Rojas Has Fractured Finger; Marlins Pause Sixto Sanchez’s Throwing Program Again

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The Marlins provided a series of injury updates Tuesday (Twitter link via the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson), most notably revealing a pair of unfortunate announcements for fans. Imaging showed a fractured finger in shortstop Miguel Rojas’ hand, while touted young right-hander Sixto Sanchez has once again had his throwing program shut down — this time after feeling discomfort between bullpen sessions.

Rojas landed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend, and while the hope was that he could return in relatively short order from what was then termed a dislocated left index finger, it now seems likely that he’ll miss more time than that after the fracture was revealed. It’s a tough blow for the Marlins, given Rojas’ outstanding glovework and the step forward he’s taken at the plate since Opening Day 2020. Rojas is hitting .275/.354/.433 through 192 plate appearances in 2021 and .287/.370/.459 dating back to last season.

With Rojas sidelined for a to-be-determined period, the Marlins can turn to the youthful combination of Jazz Chisholm and Isan Diaz in the middle infield. Jose Devers presents another young option. The 23-yea-old Chisholm, thus far, has looked like the foundational piece the Fish hoped they were acquiring when trading starter Zac Gallen to the D-backs in a rare prospect-for-prospect swap of significance. Neither Diaz nor Devers has provided much at the plate yet, however.

Chisholm has missed some time recently but avoided the IL stint to this point, and he suggested this morning on Instagram that he’d be returning to the lineup. Manager Don Mattingly effectively confirmed as much, telling McPherson and others that Chisholm is “expected” to play tonight, so long as he gets through his pregame running drills without issue.

The injury to Rojas is of particular note given his contractual status. He’d trigger a $5.5MM vesting option for the 2021 season in the event that he reaches 500 plate appearances this season and finishes the year healthy. With just 308 plate appearances to go, there’s still time for him to hit that mark even if he misses a few weeks, but a lengthier absence will obviously call that clause’s viability into question.

Turning to Sanchez, the latest setback is yet another disheartening development in the promising young righty’s season. The Marlins hoped to have Sanchez early in the year, but he was optioned to their alternate site after missing more than half of Spring Training in Covid protocols.

While building up toward what was expected to be a mid-April debut, Sanchez experienced shoulder discomfort that led the club to shut him down indefinitely. Recent reports that he’d progressed to mound work gave optimism for an early-summer debut, but a second setback has muddied his outlook. Recurring shoulder troubles of any sort are worrisome for a pitcher, particularly for one as talented as Sanchez. The consensus top prospect made his MLB debut last summer and gave Miami 39 innings of 3.46 ERA ball over the life of seven starts at just 22 years of age.

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