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Marlins Release Curt Casali

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The Marlins have released veteran catcher Curt Casali, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. He was informed over the weekend that he wouldn’t make Miami’s roster but was said to be weighing an opt-out in his contract — presumably versus heading to Triple-A with the Marlins organization. It seems he opted for the former and will now head back to the open market in search of a new opportunity. The Fish will start the season with Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes as their catching tandem.

The 35-year-old Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. He also had a rough showing in camp with the Marlins, going just 1-for-17 with a double. He drew a pair of walks and only fanned twice in 19 trips to the plate, but it’s easy to see why the Marlins went another direction.

From 2017-20, Casali was a solid hitter, turning in a combined .262/.348/.444 line in 498 plate appearances between the Rays and Reds. That marked the most productive stretch of his career. Now in his mid-30s and coming off three straight sub-par seasons at the plate, Casali can’t necessarily be expected to replicate that level of production.

Defensively, Casali remains sound. He posted a 32% caught-stealing rate (6-for-19) that was well above the league average in a 2023 season that saw stolen bases spike due to new rules limiting attempted pickoffs and slightly increasing the size of the bases. Statcast pegged Casali as above-average in terms of blocking pitches in the dirt last year, and Defensive Runs Saved credited him as a positive defender as well (+3). He drew only slightly below-average marks for his framing skills as well.

Trey Mancini Opts Out Of Marlins Contract; Curt Casali Won’t Make Roster

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Veteran first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini has opted out of his minor league deal with the Marlins, manager Skip Schumaker told the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters.  Catcher Curt Casali has also been told that he isn’t making the Opening Day roster, but Casali has yet to decide on whether or not to exercise his own standard opt-out clause as an Article XX(B) free agent.

Mancini joined the Cubs on a two-year, $14MM free agent contract last offseason, and since the Cubs waived him last August, any team that uses Mancini on a big league roster is only obligated to pay him a minimum salary (with Chicago still on the hook for the rest of his $7MM salary for 2024).  This made Mancini even more of a flier than your standard minor league signing, though the Marlins didn’t see enough in Mancini’s Spring Training performance to give him a roster spot.  Mancini hit an unspectacular .257/.333/.371 over 39 plate appearances this spring.

After missing the 2020 season due to a battle with colon cancer, Mancini made a triumphant return in 2021 and won Comeback Player Of The Year honors while batting .255/.326/.432 over 616 PA with the Orioles.  His longtime tenure in Baltimore ended when the O’s dealt Mancini to the Astros at the 2022 trade deadline, and while Mancini earned a World Series ring with Houston, he didn’t contribute much at the plate during the regular season or in the playoffs.  The struggles continued with the Cubs in 2023, as Mancini hit only .234/.299/.336 over 263 PA.

Mancini just celebrated his 32nd birthday earlier this week, and now again finds himself at something of a crossroads in his career.  His track record and reputation as a clubhouse leader should land him another minor league deal in another organization, though Mancini’s most recent results aren’t particularly encouraging.

Casali was another minor league signing for the Marlins this offseason, brought in as catching depth behind Miami’s planned tandem of Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes.  Since that isn’t exactly a proven set of backstops, Casali might well choose to pass on his opt-out decision and stay at Triple-A in the hopes of receiving a call-up at some point.  That said, any number of teams could have catching vacancies opening up due to injuries or end-of-spring cuts, so Casali find be able to find a more preferable opportunity elsewhere.

A veteran of 10 MLB seasons, Casali has hit .220/.314/.380 in 1454 PA.  Casali has been a few impressive years at the plate as a part-timer with the Reds and Rays, but the 35-year-old hasn’t hit much in the last three seasons and is generally known more for his defense and game-calling prowess.

Marlins To Include Max Meyer On Opening Day Roster

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Right-hander Max Meyer will be part of the Marlins’ Opening Day roster, the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reports (via X).  Meyer “has the inside track” to win the fifth starter’s job, Mish writes, which would line the rookie up to face the Angels on April 1 in what would be Meyer’s third career MLB start.

Meyer’s first two big league outings took place in July 2022, with the second appearance ending after just two-thirds of an inning due to some elbow pain.  That discomfort was revealed to be a UCL tear, and the subsequent Tommy John surgery kept Meyer sidelined for the rest of the 2022 season and the entirety of the 2023 campaign.  Returning to the mound this spring, Meyer has looked very sharp in seven scoreless Grapefruit League innings, with only four hits and a walk allowed.

While Meyer has done well to earn his return trip to the majors, it is fair to say that this opportunity wouldn’t have been available if the Marlins weren’t dealing with a spate of injuries within their projected rotation.  Eury Perez (elbow inflammation), Edward Cabrera (shoulder impingement), and Braxton Garrett (shoulder soreness) all look to be starting the season on the injured list, and ace Sandy Alcantara was already ruled out for 2024 due to a Tommy John surgery of his own.  Manager Skip Schumaker said last week that “everyone’s on the table” in terms of potential fill-in starters, including Meyer, who had already been optioned to Miami’s minor league camp.

Bryan Hoeing seemed to be the favorite for fifth starter work considering how Meyer and other pitchers were optioned out of the big league camp, yet now it seems like the Marlins will give Meyer a look.  Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Trevor Rogers, and Ryan Weathers will seemingly act as the top four in Miami’s rotation, with Meyer slotting in as the fifth man.  It seems possible that Meyer and Hoeing could be paired up in a piggyback type of scenario, if the Marlins wanted to be cautious about limiting Meyer’s innings after such a long layoff.

Despite Meyer’s lost 2023 season, Baseball Prospectus (86th) and Baseball America (89th) still included the 25-year-old on their preseason lists of the top 100 prospects in the sport.  Meyer drew a lot of hype coming out of the University of Minnesota, and he lived up to predictions that he would ready for the majors in pretty short order.  Meyer posted a 2.77 ERA over 172 career innings in the minors, along with an impressive 28.67% strikeout rate and an 8.79% walk rate that is a little on the high side.  The right-hander also had pretty strong grounder rates over his relatively brief time in the minors.

Eury Perez Diagnosed With Elbow Inflammation, Will Begin Season On Injured List

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Touted young Marlins right-hander Eury Perez has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow and will begin the 2024 season on the 15-day injured list, per Craig Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Surgery has not been recommended, but Perez will be sidelined for several weeks while the inflammation calms down. It’s a tough loss to begin the season though far from a worst-case scenario for the Marlins and their fans, who were bracing for the possibility of a more serious injury when Perez went for an MRI after experiencing elbow soreness.

Still just 20 years old (21 in April), Perez made his big league debut in 2023 and immediately looked like he belonged. In 91 1/3 innings, he pitched to a 3.15 earned run average while striking out 28.9% of his opponents against a tidy 8.3% walk rate. He’d previously been touted as one of the very best pitching prospects in the sport, and that type of production against big league opposition before even turning 21 years old did little to sway that thinking.

It’s an immense relief that surgery isn’t on the table for now, but the Marlins will still be without Perez for a yet-to-be-determined period of time. The length of his absence will presumably dependent on how his elbow responds to the recent shutdown period. Only time will tell how quickly that inflammation might clear up. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets that Perez will test his elbow playing some light catch this weekend, which could provide some more information.

Miami already announced left-hander Jesus Luzardo as the team’s Opening Day starter. Beyond that, the group won’t look much like the team envisioned throughout the offseason. That’s due in no small part to Perez’s injury but also because both Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera will start the season on the shelf due to shoulder issues. The Fish resisted trading from their stock of young arms this offseason and are likely glad they did so, given the injuries that have cropped up in camp.

Luzardo figures to be followed by former NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Trevor Rogers, reliever-turned-starter AJ Puk, and former Padres first-round pick Ryan Weathers. Rogers is looking for a bounceback after a pair of injury-plagued seasons. Puk was a starter in college and the minors but was pushed to the ’pen due to a series of injuries. The Marlins acquired him from the A’s in exchange for JJ Bleday last offseason and got a strong season of relief out of him; they’ll now try to stretch the big lefty out. Weathers came to the Fish in last summer’s Garrett Cooper swap with San Diego. He’s been an up-and-down depth arm with shaky results in the big leagues and Triple-A alike but was the No. 7 overall pick back in 2018.

If and when the Marlins need a fifth starter early in the season, that role could fall to righty Bryan Hoeing. He’s still in big league camp, while other 40-man options like Max Meyer, Darren McCaughan and Roddery Munoz have already been optioned out. Miami also reassigned non-roster pitchers Yonny Chirinos and Devin Smeltzer to minor league camp yesterday, ending their potential bid for rotation spots.

The Fish, of course, will be without ace Sandy Alcantara for the entire 2024 season. The 2022 National League Cy Young winner underwent Tommy John surgery in early October and will miss the entire 2024 season as a result. He’s expected back in 2025.

31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week

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One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell on the 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.

Blue Jays: 3B/2B Eduardo Escobar, 1B Joey Votto

A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider.

Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.

Cubs: 1B/OF Garrett Cooper, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., OF David Peralta

An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition Michael Busch.

Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.

Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.

Diamondbacks: SS Elvis Andrus

Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.

Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco

Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of Gavin Williams’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.

Marlins: C Curt Casali

The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

Mets: 1B/DH Ji Man Choi

From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside DJ Stewart and others.

Nationals: RHP Matt Barnes, OF Eddie Rosario, OF Jesse Winker

Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.

Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.

Orioles: 2B Kolten Wong

The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.

Pirates: RHP Chase Anderson

It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Roansy Contreras, Domingo German and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.

Rangers: INF Matt Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Jose Urena

A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. Nathaniel Lowe will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to Jared Walsh’s benefit more than Duffy.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.

The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.

Red Sox: 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Michael Fulmer, C Roberto Perez, LHP Joely Rodriguez

Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to Triston Casas and/or Masataka Yoshida at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.

Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.

Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.

Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.

Royals: RHP Tyler Duffey

Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.

White Sox: RHP Jesse Chavez, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Dominic Leone, 3B/1B Mike Moustakas, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Bryan Shaw

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.

Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.

Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.

Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn at the corners, plus Gavin Sheets as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.

Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for Luis Robert Jr. in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.

Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.

Yankees Still Looking To Add Starting Pitching

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The Yankees were frequently connected to Blake Snell while he was a free agent, but the lefty reportedly agreed to a two-year, $62MM deal with the Giants last night. Though Snell is off the board, the Yanks are still in the market for starting pitching, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

It’s understandable that the Yanks are still on the hunt for arms. They were often connected to Snell even before the recent news that ace Gerrit Cole is going to miss significant time due nerve inflammation and edema in his elbow.

Though the desire to add Snell seemed to be real, it appeared that the competitive balance tax was too much of an obstacle. The Yankees are set to be third-time payors of the tax and are already over the fourth and final threshold, meaning they face a 110% tax on any further spending. Snell didn’t find the long-term deal he was looking for, reportedly turning down a six-year, $150MM offer from the Yanks, and pivoted to a short-term pact with a high average annual value. Had the Yankees matched the $31MM AAV Snell got from the Giants, they would have had to pay $34.1MM in taxes as well.

That concern seemingly had them leaning towards a trade for Dylan Cease, since he’s still in his arbitration years and making just $8MM this year. But the Yanks missed out there as well, with Cease eventually getting shipped from the White Sox to the Padres. Heyman adds that they haven’t made much traction with other trade targets, such as Jesus Lúzardo of the Marlins.

But the need for reinforcements is apparent when looking at the rotation without Cole. Nestor Cortes went on the injured list due to a rotator cuff strain on two occasions last year and finished the season with a 4.97 ERA in 63 1/3 innings. Carlos Rodón dealt with a forearm strain and hamstring strain and posted a 6.85 ERA in his 64 1/3 innings. Marcus Stroman had a great first half but issues with his hip and rib cartilage pushed his ERA up to 3.95 by the end of the year.

Those three have each had much better results in the past but they are sort of wild cards now after their frustrating campaigns. Backing them up will be Clarke Schmidt, who had a 4.64 ERA last year. There would still be one spot open, with pitchers like Luke Weaver, Luis Gil, Clayton Beeter and Will Warren potential options. Weaver has finished three of the last four seasons with an ERA of 6.40 or higher. Gil underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2022 and missed most of the last two years. Neither Beeter nor Warren have made their major league debuts yet.

The Yankees will understandably be open to upgrading that group, especially for a season in which they are clearly committed to winning. They sent five players to the Padres to get one season of Juan Soto, and two of Trent Grisham, and will pay Soto $31MM plus taxes in the process.

Opening Day is next Thursday but the club still has options, with various pitchers still unsigned thanks to this slow offseason. The club has been connected to pitchers like Michael Lorenzen and Jordan Montgomery, both of whom remain unsigned. Free agency also features guys like Mike Clevinger, Johnny Cueto and Noah Syndergaard. Earlier this month, reporting suggested Montgomery was still holding out for a seven-year deal but the other guys won’t require significant expenditures to sign.

With the start of the season so near, there would naturally be concern about a pitcher getting stretched out after missing so much of Spring Training. It seems Lorenzen has been getting himself ready on his own, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who relays footage from Lorenzen’s agent of the righty throwing. Rosenthal reports that the righty recently threw 70 innings, getting up and down four times. He would likely still require some official game action but it doesn’t seem as though he would require a traditional six-week ramping up period.

Lorenzen has reportedly been seeking a two-year deal while also receiving interest from clubs like the White Sox and Mets.

Schumaker: “Everyone’s On The Table” For Marlins Opening Day Rotation

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Injuries are piling up for the Marlins pitching staff. Entering the spring, the Marlins knew they would have to survive the 2024 season without ace Sandy Alcantara. With Opening Day less than two weeks away, they could also be without Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, and Eury Pérez. Thankfully for manager Skip Schumaker, Miami has rotation depth. That said, with so many injuries all at once, the depth is starting to run out.

Jesús Luzardo will lead the rotation this season. Trevor Rogers hasn’t looked the same since his All-Star rookie campaign in 2021, but he has big league experience and a healthy arm. So does Ryan Weathers. In addition, the Marlins are stretching out former closer A.J. Puk and preparing him for a starting role. Still, that’s only four of the five rotations spots accounted for. If all three of Garrett, Cabrera, and Pérez start the season on the IL, the Marlins will need one more starting pitcher.

Yonny Chirinos, currently in camp on a minor league contract, is an option. He has five years of big league experience, although he has only made 38 starts at the MLB level. The right-hander struggled in nine starts with the Rays and Braves last season, giving up 38 earned runs in 43 1/3 innings of work. Devin Smeltzer is another NRI with recent experience starting in the majors. Over the past two seasons, he has made 13 starts (66 2/3 IP) with a 3.92 ERA. Unfortunately, his 5.54 ERA as an MLB reliever and 6.82 ERA in the minors during that time put a damper on his respectable numbers out of the big league rotation. The Marlins’ 40-man roster is full, so the team would have to make a corresponding move to select either Chirinos or Smeltzer.

Given all the question marks surrounding the back end of Miami’s rotation, fans have begun to wonder if top prospect Max Meyer could make the Opening Day roster. Meyer has already been optioned to minor league camp, and as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery, it seemed like the Marlins were going to take things slowly with the 25-year-old right-hander. However, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald recently asked Schumaker if Meyer could make the big league rotation out of camp. The manager replied: “I think everyone’s on the table.”

That’s far from a guarantee Meyer will make the Opening Day rotation. Still, it’s worth noting that Schumaker didn’t shut down the possibility. Meyer struggled in his brief big league cup of coffee two years ago, but there’s a reason he was the third-overall pick in the 2020 draft, and there’s a reason he remains a top prospect despite the fact that he hasn’t pitched since August 2022. Even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, none of Miami’s other depth options will stand in his way once he proves he’s ready for a big league role.

In addition to Meyer, Chirinos, and Smeltzer, McPherson mentions Bryan Hoeing as another possibility for the Marlins rotation. Like Meyer, Hoeing is already on the 40-man roster; unlike Meyer, Hoeing is still in big league camp. Hoeing doesn’t have Meyer’s upside, and he profiles more as a long man out of the bullpen. Still, he’ll be capable of eating innings until Meyer is ready for a call-up or one of the injured arms is ready to return.

Eury Perez To Undergo Imaging Due To Elbow Soreness

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The Marlins announced this afternoon that right-hander Eury Perez is experiencing elbow soreness and is set to undergo imaging and testing over the course of the coming days. Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds that part of the club’s diagnostic process will be a trip to Texas, where Perez will meet with noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister. Earlier this week, Perez was pulled from a Spring Training start after just 14 pitches due to discomfort caused by a broken fingernail.

It’s a brutal blow for the Marlins, who have been ravaged by rotation injuries this offseason. Sandy Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery back in the fall and is set to miss the entire 2024 campaign, and since then both Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera have dealt with shoulder issues that could relegate them to the injured list to begin the season. Now Perez appears all but certain to open the regular season on the shelf as well. While the severity of the 20-year-old phenom’s specific issue is uncertain, concerns regarding the elbow are particularly ominous due to the possibility of a lengthy absence.

Elbow surgeries can often wipe out a pitcher’s entire season, as is the case with Alcantara, and even non-surgical rehab can take a pitcher away from game action for months at a time, as was recently demonstrated by Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Even in the best case scenario, the time spent determining the extent of Perez’s injury figures to set him back as he looks to build up his pitch count for the regular season. Perez’s aforementioned fingernail issue has limited his ability to prepare for the coming season this spring, and with just two weeks until Opening Day and the right-hander likely to be sidelined for at least a few more days, it’s hard to imagine him being able to avoid at least a brief stint on the injured list.

With Perez, Cabrera, and Garrett all at least at risk of joining Alcantara on the injured list to open the season, that leaves southpaw Jesus Luzardo as the only member of the club’s on-paper starting rotation who is currently expected to be available on Opening Day. Southpaw A.J. Puk was already widely expected to begin the season in the club’s rotation after the club made the decision to stretch the lefty out despite his success as a high-leverage arm in the club’s bullpen last year, and the injuries also seem likely to open the door for the likes of Trevor Rogers and Ryan Weathers to step into rotation roles as the season begins. That would still leave the fifth spot in the club’s rotation vacant, however, though right-hander Bryan Hoeing represents one option already on the 40-man roster and the club has plenty of potential non-roster options at its disposal including Yonny Chirinos, Vladimir Gutierrez, and Devin Smeltzer.

Of course, none of those potential depth options can be reasonably expected to deliver the sort of impact that Perez offers. The righty, 21 next month, was a consensus top-15 prospect in all of baseball when he made his debut for Miami last year, and he immediately flashed the front-of-the-rotation potential that his prospect pedigree suggested as he dazzled with a microscopic 1.34 ERA and a solid 3.02 FIP in his first nine starts in the majors. He struck out 29.2% of batters faced during that stretch, and while midsummer struggles led the club to limit his workload down the stretch the youngster nonetheless features prominently in the club’s plans for the 2024 season and beyond. So much so, in fact, that Perez was generally regarded as the club’s sole untouchable as they fielded trade offers on the likes of Garrett, Luzardo, and Cabrera during the offseason.

The rotation injuries have been a major blow to a Marlins club that is looking to build upon a surprising postseason appearance in 2023. The club’s starting pitchers ranked top ten in the majors last year in ERA, FIP, and fWAR while striking out the fourth-most batters in all of baseball. That dominant run prevention apparatus was key to the club’s success last year as the lineup lagged behind, ranking just 20th in the majors with a collective wRC+ of 94. With so many injuries impacting the club’s rotation already this year, the team will need strong performance from the likes of Luis Arraez, Josh Bell, Jake Burger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. if the club hopes to return to postseason contention in 2024.

Offseason In Review: Miami Marlins

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The Marlins snuck into the playoffs in 2023, their first postseason berth in a full season in 20 years. Despite that, it ended up being an offseason focused on changing and planning for the future.

Major League Signings

2024 spending: $5MM
Total spending: $5MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Marlins got to pop some champagne last year but it quickly went flat. They were eliminated by the Phillies, swept out of the Wild Card series by losing 4-1 on October 3 and then 7-1 on October 4. Shortly thereafter, on October 6, it was reported that Sandy Alcántara would require Tommy John surgery, putting their ace out of action for the 2024 season.

But it was nonetheless a refreshing season for the club. The Marlins hadn’t even had a winning record in a full season since 2009, so to get over .500 and squeeze out a couple of playoff games was a nice step forward, relatively speaking. That’s why it registered as a surprise that the winter began with a front office shakeup. By mid-October, it was reported that the club and general manager Kim Ng would be parting ways.

Ng, who had been in that job since November of 2020, was on an expiring contract. There was a mutual option for 2024 but she was reportedly informed by owner Bruce Sherman that he planned to hire a president of baseball operations to work over her. The club triggered their end of the option but she decided not to trigger hers, an understandable move since it would essentially amount to a demotion after dragging the club into the postseason.

It was later reported that Sherman had concerns about the organization’s reputation for drafting and developing, particularly on the position player side, as the club has often had strong pitching staffs in recent years but the lineup has largely been built via trade. Despite many losing seasons in recent memory and plenty of high draft picks, on top of the club getting extra picks and strong international bonus pools as a revenue-sharing recipient, the club’s farm is not held in high esteem. Baseball America currently ranks them 27th out of the 30 teams in the league, FanGraphs 26th, The Athletic 28th while MLB Pipeline and ESPN both have them at 29th.

As such, change was the name of the game in Miami. Ng was eventually replaced by Peter Bendix, who had been working across the state for the Rays. Given that Tampa Bay has a strong reputation for consistently churning out young talent with limited resources, it seems Miami is hoping to bring some of that magic down south. But that wasn’t the only move in the suit-and-tie section, as scouting director D.J. Svihlik was let go, former player and coach Gabe Kapler was brought aboard to fill a front office role as assistant general manager, Rachel Balkovec was hired as director of player management, Sam Mondry-Cohen as the team’s new vice-president of player personnel and Sara Goodrum as director of special projects.

In contrast to that flurry of changes, the roster hasn’t had a lot of significant turnover compared to last year. Arguably, the most notable change is that slugger Jorge Soler will no longer be a part of the club. He hit 36 home runs last year and decided to opt out and retry free agency, leaving $13MM on the table. That ended up being a wise move, as he secured a three-year, $42MM deal from the Giants. The Marlins didn’t receive any compensation for his departure as they opted not to issue him a $20.325MM qualifying offer.

Soler told reporters in January that the Marlins had not reached out to him about a reunion. There was some contradictory reporting later that month that suggested the club was indeed talking to Soler about coming back, but after signing with the Giants he again affirmed that he had no contact with the club over the winter.

It seems the club had little appetite on spending money to address the designated hitter vacancy. They’ve recently been connected to J.D. Martinez, who remains unsigned, but the odds of him landing in Miami seem low.

The lack of interest in free agency wasn’t limited to the DH spot, as the club spent close to nothing this winter. They came into the offseason with clear holes at the shortstop and catcher positions but didn’t attack those spots with much gusto.

Christian Bethancourt sort of fell into their laps as the Rays, the former club of Bendix, put the catcher and several other players on waivers in the hopes of cutting costs. The Guardians won the claim but later signed Austin Hedges and flipped Bethancourt to the Marlins for cash. Bethancourt and the Fish eventually avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $2.05MM.

Bethancourt is generally considered a solid defender, particularly with the running game, but his offense is inconsistent. He hit .252/.283/.409 in 2022 but dropped to .225/.254/.381 last year, his wRC+ going from 100 to 74. Regardless, he has a decent chance of being better than Jacob Stallings, who is also renowned for his glovework but hit just .210/.287/.290 with Miami over the past two seasons.

At shortstop, they were connected to various names like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Amed Rosario, Nick Ahmed and Gio Urshela, but the position remained unaddressed until late February. The offseason had slowed considerably and plenty of free agents remained unsigned at that point, allowing the Marlins to take a $5MM flier on Tim Anderson.

He is coming off a dreadful season, having hit just one home run with a diminished batting average and lesser defensive metrics as well. But he was a solid everyday shortstop for many years prior to that and will be a bargain if he can turn things around. A knee injury suffered early in last year’s campaign perhaps offers an explanation for his poor results, as his sprint speed was down compared to previous seasons.

From 2017 to 2021, he posted double-digit home run totals, even in the shortened 2020 season. He got to double-digit steals in each of those full seasons as well. In 2022, he missed time due to injuries and only got into 79 games but still hit .301/.339/.395 for a wRC+ of 110. FanGraphs considered him to be worth at least two wins above replacement in each year from 2018 to 2022 and in 2016 as well.

There was also a lot of trade chatter around the club’s starting rotation, as has become the norm in recent years. But the club’s long-standing rotation surplus has been diminished, which made a trade less likely. The club traded away Pablo López last offseason as part of the deal to bring in Luis Arráez, and the aforementioned Tommy John surgery for Alcántara subtracted another hugely important arm.

That didn’t stop clubs from sniffing around, as Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera were the subject of trade rumors this winter. As of right now, the Fish have decided to hold onto the pitchers they have, which is probably for the best. Both Garrett and Cabrera are dealing with shoulder injuries here in camp and are questionable for Opening Day, while Eury Pérez is likely to open the season the shelf as he battles a broken fingernail and elbow soreness.

Most of those issues appear to be fairly minor and there’s nothing to suggest any of them is facing a lengthy absence, but the depth is going to be tested early on. Had the club decided to pull the trigger on a Luzardo deal, the picture would have looked even worse. Long-time reliever A.J. Puk has been stretched out and it seems like the injuries could give him plenty of runway to return to a starting gig, something that he did as a prospect.

In the end, the club will be going into 2024 with a fairly similar roster to last year, though it’s debatable whether that’s a good thing. Despite making the playoffs, the club actually had a -57 run differential last year, putting them in the bottom 10 of major league teams. They had an incredible 33-14 record in one-run games, allowing them to go 84-78 despite an expected win-loss of 74-88, a tough feat to repeat with consistency. That’s particularly true with a pair of notable subtractions in the bullpen. Puk figures to move to the starting staff, while the Fish flipped Steven Okert to the Twins for utility player Nick Gordon early in camp.

Soler will be gone, with Avisaíl García perhaps picking up his at-bats if he can stay healthy. Full seasons from last year’s deadline pickups Josh Bell and Jake Burger could also factor in for some more thump in the lineup. Joey Wendle is out as the regular shortstop and Anderson would be an upgrade if he puts 2023 behind him. Bethancourt will likely be a bit better than Stallings behind the dish. Losing Alcántara hurts but perhaps it won’t be so bad if the club can get steps forward from younger pitchers like Puk, Pérez, Cabrera, Max Meyer or Trevor Rogers.

Ultimately, the future of the franchise will likely be written behind the scenes, as the club seems determined to overhaul its systems for evaluating and developing younger players. As a franchise that generally doesn’t spend much, it’s important for the organization to provide productive players from within, as those players are more affordable than veteran free agents.

That could lead to significant changes down the road but the 2024 club isn’t substantially different from the 2023 version. Whether that can lead to another strong season in a tough National League East remains to be seen.

Edward Cabrera Diagnosed With Right Shoulder Impingement

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March 12: Cabrera has been diagnosed with an impingement in his right shoulder and is day-to-day for the time being, Schumaker revealed to the Marlins beat this morning (X link via Issac Azout of Fish On First). Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald adds that he’ll be evaluated further today, and the team will determine his next steps thereafter.

March 11: Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera will undergo an MRI on his right shoulder, manager Skip Schumaker tells Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The righty’s strength tests evidently came back fine but there’s still enough concern that the club would like some more information.

It was reported that Cabrera didn’t make his scheduled start yesterday due to some tightness in his throwing shoulder. Though his scratch was presented as precautionary and Cabrera said he was “already starting to feel better” a few hours later, the concern from the club is enough that some imaging is now planned.

Cabrera has shown a strong ability to get strikeouts and ground balls thus far in his career, though with some concerns about his lack of control. He has thrown 197 2/3 innings over the past three years with a 4.01 earned run average. He has punched out 26.2% of hitters in that time while keeping 49.4% of balls in play on the ground, but he’s also given out free passes to 14% of opponents that he has faced.

Now out of options, Cabrera seemed a lock for a rotation spot in Miami to open the year, especially with some injury questions in the starting group. Sandy Alcántara underwent Tommy John surgery late last year and won’t be an option for the club in 2024. Lefty Braxton Garrett is dealing with some shoulder soreness here in spring and is questionable for Opening Day.

Garrett’s injury seemed to open the door for A.J. Puk to break camp in the rotation, as he looks to move from the bullpen to a starting role. Puk would slot in next to Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez and Cabrera, with one spot available for someone like Trevor Rogers or Ryan Weathers. If Cabrera’s shoulder tightness requires him to miss some time, perhaps both of Rogers and Weathers need to open the season in the rotation.

Rogers and Weathers have each been posting good results here in spring but it would be less than ideal for the Marlins to be relying on them early on. Rogers only tossed 18 innings last year due to biceps and lat injuries. Weathers, meanwhile, struggled badly last year and finished with a 6.55 ERA. It would also put them in a spot where their top depth options could be Max Meyer or Bryan Hoeing. Meyer is a talented prospect but missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Hoeing has just 83 1/3 innings of major league experience with a 6.48 ERA. Pitchers like Roddery Muñoz and Darren McCaughan are also on the 40-man roster but Muñoz hasn’t yet made his MLB debut and McCaughan has just 14 big league innings.

That would put the Fish far away from past years, when they had so much depth that there were persistent rumors about them using it to bolster other parts of the roster. They did make one such trade when they flipped Pablo López and a couple of prospects for Luis Arráez, but that trade and the Alcántara surgery have thinned out the group in a hurry.

The club will obviously be hoping for good news in the coming weeks on both Garrett and Cabrera. Free agency still has some arms available but the Marlins have been keeping the purse strings tight this offseason. Their $5MM deal for Tim Anderson is the only major league deal they’ve given out to a free agent. That makes it hard to imagine them signing someone like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, or even Michael Lorenzen. Pitchers like Jake Odorizzi or Noah Syndergaard could perhaps be signed for a modest amounts, though the Marlins may not feel that necessary if Cabrera and/or Garrett end up feeling better in the coming days.

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