Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Marlins Rumors

Where Can The Marlins Look For Shortstop Help?

By | at

Shortly after it was reported that the Blue Jays had a two-year, $15MM deal in place with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald relayed that the Marlins were “down the road with IKF but not at 2/15.” He added that the club may have to use Jon Berti and other internal options to cover the shortstop position, with the club not strongly linked to any big free agent, though a trade is still possible.

The reality is that there is no big free agent shortstop this winter for them to be linked to. There are some guys out there, though each with obvious shortcomings. The trade market is somewhat similar. But with their internal options headlines by Berti, Vidal Bruján and Jacob Amaya, it makes sense for the Marlins to still be casting out their net. Let’s take a look at where the Fish can go from here, with just six weeks to go until Spring Training kicks off.

Free Agents

Tim Anderson

It’s well-known that Anderson is coming off a dreadful season. He hit just one home run in 123 games and produced a line of .245/.286/.296. His wRC+ of 60 was dead last among qualified hitters last year. His defensive metrics also took a tumble, leading to a negative WAR tally at both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. Taking a shot on Anderson would be a bet that he was held back by a knee injury in 2023 and will bounce back to his previous form. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .318/.347/.473 for a wRC+ of 123 with some passable glovework in there as well.

Amed Rosario

Rosario is somewhat similar to Anderson, as he is coming off a down year but looks better with a wider view. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .282/.315/.412 for a wRC+ of 101, though his defense wasn’t terribly well regarded in that time. His bat dropped off in 2023, though not as far as Anderson’s. He ultimately hit .263/.305/.378 between the Guardians and Dodgers for a wRC+ of 88. The latter club utilized him at second base and he seemed to post better results there, so perhaps he’ll be viewed as more of a second baseman going forward.

Elvis Andrus

Outside of a blip in 2022, Andrus has been subpar at the plate for quite a while but his defense continues to be strong. He got into 112 games for the White Sox last year, spending more time at second base but 404 innings at short, producing four Outs Above Average in that time. Though he hit just .251/.304/.358 for a wRC+ of 81, he was still worth 1.1 fWAR on the year thanks to his speed and defense. Having signed for just $3MM last winter, he should be fairly cheap again this offseason.

Gio Urshela

Urshela is decent at the plate, having hit .281/.323/.415 over the past three seasons for a wRC+ of 106. He’s also a solid defender but has never been more than a part-time option at shortstop. He had just 359 career innings at the position, with subpar grades for that small sample of work.

Others

There are plenty of other free agents who can play shortstop, but it’s hard to envision any of them getting an everyday job there. Each of Brandon Crawford, Kevin Newman, Nick Ahmed, Ehire Adrianza, Luis Guillorme, Enrique Hernández, Adalberto Mondesí, Yu Chang and Kevin Smith are available, but each is either coming off a poor season or is best served as a utility/bench option.

Trade Market

Willy Adames

Adames is perhaps the best player listed in this post, regularly combining 25-homer power with strong defense, but it’s hard to imagine the Marlins prying him loose from Milwaukee. He’s an impending free agent and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of $12.4MM. That makes it speculatively possible that the Brewers are open to moving him, but then they would be left with a shortstop vacancy of their own, which would put them in the same tricky spot the Marlins are in now. For a low-spending club like the Marlins that needs a strong prospect pipeline to succeed, it’s unlikely they would part with significant prospects for a rental.

Ha-Seong Kim

Kim is somewhat similar to Adames, as he’s a good player but a rental. He’s hit .256/.338/.391 over the past two seasons and has been great in the field, allowing him to produce 8.1 fWAR in that span. The Padres are running a tight budget but Kim has a CBT hit of just $7MM and they have infield questions. Manny Machado had elbow surgery in October and may need to miss some of the start of the season or at least slot into a DH role for a while. That could leave Kim covering third with Jake Cronenworth at second until Machado comes back, moving Kim back to second and Cronenworth to first.

Kyle Farmer

Farmer is a glove-first utility guy that generally grades out well at shortstop. He’s hit .258/.316/.402 over the past three years for a wRC+ of 94. He has over 2,000 innings at shortstop in his career, with a -1 DRS, 0.7 UZR and +3 OAA. The Twins tended him a contract for 2024 with a projected salary of $6.6MM, but they are looking to cut payroll this year due to their broadcast situation. Their infield is loaded with Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff set for regular roles and prospect Brooks Lee charging hard from the minors. Without Farmer, they would still have Willi Castro and Nick Gordon for bench/utility roles and José Miranda in the minors as depth. Like Adames and Kim, he’s a rental, but should be more attainable.

Santiago Espinal

Espinal seems somewhat redundant as a depth/utility player now that the Jays have IKF on the roster. Espinal hit .282/.340/.382 over 2021 and 2022 for a wRC+ of 105 and received strong grades at the three infield positions to the left of first base. He hasn’t played too much shortstop but that’s mostly because the Jays have had Bo Bichette locked in there. Espinal is coming off a down year at the plate, however, having hit .248/.310/.335 in 2023 for a wRC+ of 80. He’s projected for an arbitration salary of $2.5MM and has two extra years of control beyond this one.

Jorge Mateo

The Orioles are loaded with infield talent, with 2024 likely to see a left side of Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, which will squeeze out Mateo. He has hit just .223/.270/.363 in his career for a wRC+ of 77 but has stolen 30-plus bases in each of the past two years. He’s also considered a great defender at short, having grades of 15 DRS, 8 OAA and 9.1 UZR in his career. He will make $2.7MM this year and can be retained for one more arbitration season after that.

Guardians

The Guardians have a high number of shortstop-capable players on their roster, including Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Juan Brito, Tyler Freeman, Angel Martínez and José Tena all in the mix. Andrés Giménez could also be on that list, though he’s likely to be the everyday second baseman. They may be willing to part with someone from that group, depending on who they believe will eventually take the job in Cleveland.

Braxton Garrett’s Rotation Emergence

By | at

Braxton Garrett did not begin the 2023 season in the Marlins’ rotation. His first appearance was a three-inning relief outing on April 1. The Fish optioned him two days later but recalled him within a day as Johnny Cueto went on the injured list.

Cueto’s injury opened a spot for Garrett to assume the #5 starting job behind Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Edward Cabrera. The left-hander was a quality depth option, a former #7 overall pick who had turned in a 3.58 ERA over 17 starts in 2022. That the Marlins nevertheless brought in Cueto and began with Garrett sixth on the depth chart suggests the front office had trepidation about his ability to repeat those results.

Once injury pushed Garrett back into the starting mix, he didn’t look back. The 26-year-old made 30 starts from that point forward, ultimately logging 159 2/3 innings. He finished third on the team in workload while allowing 3.66 earned runs per nine. That came with above-average peripherals across the board. Garrett punched out a solid 23.7% of batters faced while keeping the ball on the ground nearly half the time. He walked only 4.4% of opposing hitters, showcasing the plus control which evaluators had praised during his time as a prospect.

It’s not an overpowering profile. He averaged just 90.5 MPH with the sinker that serves as his primary offering. Despite the pedestrian velocity, Garrett has shown the ability to miss bats with his assortment of secondary pitches. He generated above-average whiff rates on each of his slider, cutter and changeup. The well-rounded arsenal allowed him to avoid significant platoon issues. Garrett’s strikeout and walk profile was better than average regardless of the opponent’s handedness. Right-handed hitters made more authoritative contact than southpaws, but neither side produced much overall.

Garrett’s development into a mid-rotation arm has taken on extra importance given other setbacks in the starting staff. Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery in October, knocking him out of the mix for 2024. Rogers injured his left biceps and right (non-throwing shoulder), limiting him to four starts. Cabrera, a former top pitching prospect, has shown promising stuff but continues to issue plenty of free passes. The Cueto signing didn’t work.

Miami’s rotation was productive overall. Luzardo also took a step forward, while 20-year-old Eury Pérez posted a 3.15 ERA over 19 starts as a rookie. That the Fish turned to Garrett in the second game of their Wild Card series with the Phillies still hints at both the strength of his ’23 campaign and some of the hits Miami took above him on the season-opening depth chart.

Garrett has just under two years of major league service. He’ll surely qualify for early arbitration next offseason as a Super Two player but remains under club control for five additional seasons. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote in late November the Fish were receiving trade interest in their young starters but were likely to consider Garrett off limits. There’s no question of his place in the rotation heading into 2024.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Marlins Acquire Roddery Muñoz From Pirates

By | at

The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Roddery Muñoz from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, with fellow righty Ryan Jensen designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Muñoz was designated for assignment last week as the Bucs opened a roster spot for their acquisitions of Rowdy Tellez and Edward Olivares. Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports first relayed that Muñoz would be heading to Miami and Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay the full slate of moves.

Muñoz, 24 in April, has never pitched for the Pirates or any major league team. He was a prospect with Atlanta and had a solid 2022 campaign, tossing 100 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A. His 4.66 earned run average for that year doesn’t jump off the page, but he struck out 26.9% of batters faced while walking 9.5%. That got him a roster spot in November of last year, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

But his results backed up in 2023 and he went to the Nationals and Pirates on waiver claims in July and December, respectively. He tossed 78 minor league innings on the year overall with a 5.42 ERA, striking out 23% of opponents but also walking 15.1% of them. He is still young and has a couple of options, so the Marlins will add him as some optionable starting depth.

The club has a rotation mix that currently consists of Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers and others. Relievers A.J. Puk and George Soriano will reportedly be stretched out in the spring to see if they can help. There have been rumors of some members in that group receiving trade interest, which doesn’t necessarily mean the Marlins are looking to make a deal but Muñoz will give them some extra depth in either case.

As for Jensen, 26, he is somewhat similar in that he has bounced around to various clubs without making a major league appearance. A first-round pick of the Cubs in 2019, he racked up some decent strikeout numbers on his way up the minor league ladder but also gave out walks at a high frequency.

The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster just over a year ago to keep him out of the Rule 5 but his results dipped in 2023. He had a 5.31 ERA after six Double-A starts and was moved to the bullpen. That transition didn’t lead to vastly improved results and he wound up on waivers in August, claimed by the Mariners. He ultimately tossed 64 1/3 innings on the year at Double-A and Triple-A between the organizations of the Cubs and the Mariners. He had a 5.32 ERA in that time, striking out 25.1% of opponents but also walking 17.4%.

The Mariners designated him for assignment in November. The Marlins put in a claim but have now bumped him off the roster less than a month later. They will have a week to work out a trade or try to pass him through waivers. The control has been an issue but he’s a former first-round pick with strikeout stuff and two option years remaining.

Jesús Luzardo Drawing Trade Interest

By | at

8:57pm: In a separate column, Rosenthal reports that Miami and the Royals discussed the framework of a trade that would’ve sent the southpaw to Kansas City and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to South Florida during the Winter Meetings. It doesn’t appear that those conversations are still going, as the Royals instead addressed their rotation with free agent adds of Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.

Pasqunatino, who owns a .272/.355/.444 slash in 558 career plate appearances, saw his second big league season cut short by surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder. He remains under team control for five years.

12:28pm: Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo is drawing trade interest, per a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Miami rotation has been a frequent nexus point of rumors in recent years, which has continued into this winter. Just last month, Rosenthal reported on the same concept, highlighting Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers as possible trade candidates. At that time, Rosenthal portrayed Luzardo as likely off-limits, but his report from today seems to suggest it may not be totally off the table after all.

Rosenthal suggests that Peter Bendix, the club’s new president of baseball operations, might have more willingness to consider a trade than now-former general manager Kim Ng. As Rosenthal points out, Bendix came to the Marlins from the Rays, a club that has generally been unafraid to trade players at peak value. For instance, in 2018, they traded Chris Archer to the Pirates for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz. They later sent Meadows to the Tigers for Isaac Paredes and are in the process of trading Glasnow to the Dodgers at this very moment.

If Bendix has any intention of bringing a similar operating style to Miami, then considering a Luzardo deal can become plausible in that light. He has three years of club control remaining, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $5.9MM in 2024. He will be due raises in the two following seasons before he’s slated to reach free agency after 2026. Since he’s going to get more expensive as his control dwindles, his trade value right now is likely as high as it will get.

Of course, beyond the contractual situation, there is the on-field stuff to consider. Luzardo posted a 3.32 earned run average in 18 starts last year, then a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts here in 2023. He struck out 28.7% of batters faced over those two years while walking just 7.9% and keeping 40.1% of balls in play on the ground. That kind of performance, along with his relatively modest salary and years of control, should combine to give him a tremendous amount of trade value.

But that also makes him incredibly valuable to the Marlins and it’s worth pointing out that their situation is more precarious than in past years. Sandy Alcántara underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the most recent season and is slated to miss all of 2024. The club also subtracted Pablo López from the mix by flipping him to the Twins last offseason. If they were to trade Luzardo, they would be down to Eury Pérez, Braxton Garrett, Cabrera, Rogers and Max Meyer.

Pérez and Garrett make for a strong front two, but Pérez might be on a workload limit next year due to his youth and quick ascent. Cabrera has significant control problems while Rogers struggled in 2022 and then missed almost all of 2023 due to injury. Meyer has just two MLB starts and missed all of 2023 due to his own TJS. The club is reportedly planning to stretch out relievers A.J. Puk and George Soriano in the spring but there’s no guarantee that transition will work.

Given the uncertainty in the rotation, they may not want to subtract a talented pitcher like Luzardo, and there’s nothing to suggest they are actively shopping him. But if the right offer comes in, the club may have to consider it. Roster Resource currently projects the club’s 2024 payroll at $98MM. Bruce Sherman bought the team at the end of 2017 and, per the data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, we can see the club’s Opening Day payroll dropped from $115MM that year to $100MM the year after. It hasn’t been higher than $93MM since.

The club could use some upgrades to its lineup, particularly in the middle infield, and may not have many resources available to do so. Even if they were willing to spend a bit more money, the best free agents available are guys like Whit Merrifield, Tim Anderson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. While trading a pitcher would come with the risk of further weakening the rotation, it’s possible it could be their best path forward. Clubs like the Reds, Twins, Rays, Cardinals and Orioles are flush with position players and could use some pitching, perhaps allowing them to line up with the Marlins.

Marlins Remain Open To Catching Addition

By | at

The Marlins added to the catching corps over the weekend, bringing in Christian Bethancourt in a trade with Cleveland. The former Ray looks to have the top spot on the depth chart, nudging Nick Fortes to the backup role. Those two are the only catchers on the 40-man roster, leaving room for another acquisition.

Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald report that the Fish remain open to adding another catcher. To that end, Jackson and Mish indicate they’ve considered Andrew Knizner as a low-cost free agent target. The 28-year-old (29 in February) became a free agent when he was non-tendered by the Cardinals last month.

A former seventh-round pick, Knizner had spent his entire career in St. Louis. He was a prospect of some regard during his run in the Cards’ farm system. The presence of Yadier Molina kept Knizner from getting many extended reps, though, and he didn’t produce much in his limited opportunities. He hit .204/.292/.288 in 553 plate appearances between his 2019 debut and the end of the 2022 season. That contributed to the club’s decision to sign Willson Contreras to a five-year free agent deal after Molina’s retirement.

Knizner picked up 241 plate appearances in a depth role last season, the second-highest workload of his career. His .241/.288/.424 batting line marked a step up from his early-career work, at least from a power perspective. The right-handed hitter knocked 10 homers while making hard contact on a solid 40.9% of his batted balls. While still below-average offense overall, Knizner’s production was in line with the .236/.303/.394 league slash for catchers.

That the Cards nevertheless moved on from Knizner despite a modest $2MM arbitration projection hints at continued struggles on the other side of the ball. A late conversion to catching during his final season at North Carolina State, Knizner has always been viewed as a work in progress defensively. Statcast consistently grades him below average at framing pitches. He also ranked 65th out of 74 catchers (minimum 10 throws) in average pop time to second base.

Defensive questions aside, Knizner is coming off a better year at the plate than either Bethancourt or Fortes managed. He’d likely be available for a little more than the league minimum salary and would be eligible for arbitration after next year. He also still has a minor league option remaining (as does Fortes), meaning a signing team could send him to Triple-A — at least until he reaches five years of MLB service, which won’t happen until late August at the earliest. Beyond Knizner, players like Austin Nola, Martín Maldonado, Yasmani Grandal and Eric Haase are likely looking at one-year free agent contracts.

In other news, Jackson and Mish write that the Fish are considering giving right-hander George Soriano a rotation look next spring. The 24-year-old has worked in relief over the past two seasons, including during his 52-inning MLB debut this year. Soriano worked to a 3.81 ERA with a reasonable 22.8% strikeout rate against an elevated 10.1% walk percentage while frequently working two innings per appearance.

The Fish have already indicated that left-hander A.J. Puk will stretch out as a starter in exhibition play. Even if they do the same with Soriano, they could determine both pitchers are ultimately best suited to open the year back in the bullpen. Miami presently projects for a starting five of Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers.

First-year president of baseball operations Peter Bendix comes from a Tampa Bay front office that hasn’t been shy about converting bullpen arms to starters, often in response to midseason injuries. The Rays found success with rotation moves for Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs and Zack Littell over the past two years (although Rasmussen and Springs have since sustained injuries that necessitated arm surgery).

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Daniel Castano

By | at

The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed former Marlins lefty Daniel Castano to a one-year contract, the team announced (English-language link via Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency). He’ll earn $650K in guaranteed money between his salary and signing bonus, and he can take home another $200K via incentives.

Castano, 29, came to the Marlins alongside future stars Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen (later flipped to Arizona for Jazz Chisholm Jr.) in the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. He’s appeared in each of the past four seasons with Miami, logging a total of 88 2/3 innings. Along the way, the former 19th-round pick has posted a 4.47 earned run average with a 12.4% strikeout rate that’s roughly half the league average and a solid 7.9% walk rate.

Castano has appeared in parts of three Triple-A seasons with the Marlins and produced generally similar run-prevention numbers, albeit with a much better strikeout rate. In 174 innings with Miami’s top affiliate in Jacksonville, he’s logged a 4.24 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He’s expected to work as a starter with the Dinos, per general manager Sun-nam Lim.

The Marlins outrighted Castano off the 40-man roster in September, and he became a free agent following the season. He’d likely have been in line for a minor league deal were he to sign with an MLB organization, at which point he’d have earned at a prorated deal not far north of the MLB minimum for any time spent in the big leagues. The $650K guarantee alone should top what he might’ve made under that scenario, and the incentives give him further earning potential.

If things go well for Castano in the KBO, he could position himself to re-sign for a guarantee closer to seven figures next year, and with enough success he could draw interest from Japan’s NPB or even on a return to the big leagues. He only just turned 29 in September, so he’s still young enough to make his way back to North American ball in a few years, depending how he fares overseas.

Marlins Acquire Christian Bethancourt From Guardians

By and | at

The Marlins and Guardians have announced a trade that will send catcher Christian Bethancourt to Miami in exchange for cash considerations.  Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase was the first to report Bethancourt going to the Marlins, while the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported the cash return to Cleveland (both links to X).

The trade adds context to the Guardians’ $one-year, $4MM deal with Austin Hedges from earlier today.  The signing initially seemed curious given how Bethancourt and Bo Naylor were already lined up as Cleveland’s catching corps, but obviously the Guards were planning two moves at once in both signing Hedges and then flipping Bethancourt to the catcher-needy Marlins.

Bethancourt is a veteran of seven MLB seasons, though none in 2018-21 as he played in the minor leagues and spent a season playing in South Korea.  Returning to the big leagues with the A’s in 2022, Bethancourt was then dealt to Tampa Bay in July 2022, and the catcher ended up hitting .235/.257/.399 over 483 PA with the Rays over the last two seasons.  With his numbers falling off at the plate in 2023, the Rays outrighted Bethancourt off their 40-man roster at the start of November, and the Guardians claimed him off waivers two days later.

Almost at that exact same time, Peter Bendix was in final talks with the Marlins to leave the Rays’ GM job and become Miami’s new president of baseball operations.  As such, Bethancourt has become one of several ex-Tampa players that Bendix has already added to Miami’s roster during his brief time in charge of the front office.

While Bethancourt had exactly a league-average 100 wRC+ (from a .252/.283/.409 slash line and 11 homers in 333 PA) in 2022, it is safe to assume he probably won’t be viewed as a true starting catcher for the Marlins.  Bethancourt and Nick Fortes at least provide the Fish with a slight upgrade on paper from last year’s catching tandem of Fortes and the non-tendered Jacob Stallings, as Bethancourt’s strong throwing arm can pair with Fortes’ glove for a defense-first approach.  Bendix will probably keep an eye out for any more possible upgrades, as Fortes can still be optioned to the minors.

Bethancourt was projected to earn $2.3MM in arbitration salary this winter, so the Rays’ outright essentially served as an early non-tender for the team.  This is Betancourt’s second of three arb-eligible years, so the Marlins have control on his services through the 2025 season.

Royals Exploring Pitching Market, Have Interest In Seth Lugo

By | at

The Royals have been “aggressive” in their search for rotation help this offseason and made an offer to right-hander Sonny Gray before he signed with the Cardinals, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal further writes that the Royals are among the teams showing strong interest in right-hander Seth Lugo, who’s drawn widespread interest this winter.

Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo has made no secret about his desire to add to his rotation, plainly stating early in the offseason that “one of our goals is to get starting pitching.” The Royals need at least one arm and could well look to add multiple pieces to the rotation between now and Opening Day. The Royals got a breakout showing from Cole Ragans after acquiring him from the Rangers in exchange for Aroldis Chapman this past summer, and right-hander Brady Singer is likely locked into a rotation spot even after an up-and-down year (and, more broadly, up-and-down big league tenure in terms of performance). Beyond that, the Royals have veteran innings eater Jordan Lyles signed for next season and are surely still hopeful of getting some quality innings from former top prospects Kris Bubic (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Daniel Lynch.

That said, the Royals have been hoping for the quartet of Singer, Lynch, Bubic and Jackson Kowar to eventually emerge at the MLB level for several seasons. That group comprised the nucleus of a vaunted 2018 crop of college arms around whom the Royals hoped to build, but their development hasn’t panned out. Singer had a brilliant 2022 season and took a step back in 2023. Bubic had Tommy John surgery early in 2023. Kowar has been twice traded this offseason and is now in the Mariners organization.

Rosenthal suggests that in their quest to find rotation upgrades, the Royals have been willing to talk about trades of former top catching/outfield prospect MJ Melendez, infielder Michael Massey and catcher Freddy Fermin. Melendez and Massey, however, are coming off dismal 2023 campaigns. The former is a .227/.314/.396 hitter in 1136 MLB plate appearances and has posted bottom-of-the-scale defensive grades both behind the plate and in the outfield corners. The latter got his first full-time look in ’23 but managed only a .229/.274/.381 slash with mixed defensive ratings (-9 Defensive Runs Saved, +3 Outs Above Average). Both players still have five seasons of remaining club control.

Fermin, meanwhile, looks to be a late-blooming option capable of handling a regular workload behind the dish, be it for the Royals or another club. He entered the 2023 season with just seven MLB plate appearances but wound up tallying 235 trips to the plate with a .281/.321/.461 output and nine home runs. Defensive Runs Saved credited Fermin at a hearty mark of +8, and both FanGraphs and Statcast credited him as an above average framer. Statcast also tabbed Fermin as league-average in terms of blocking balls in the dirt, and his 31% caught-stealing rate checked in 10 percentage points above the league average.

Age and lack of big league track record notwithstanding, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding Fermin and his breakout rookie season. However, that also makes him quite valuable to a Royals club that has an aging Salvador Perez behind the plate. Perez’s defensive ratings have been in a freefall for the past few seasons, and his production at the plate has also begun to wane. The 33-year-old (34 in May) team captain still smacked 23 home runs last year, but his overall .255/.292/.422 batting line was his weakest since 2018. Perez still caught 91 games last year (against 29 at DH), but at some point the Royals could begin playing him more regularly at DH, which would open time for Fermin. Perez is still signed for another two years at a total of $44MM.

Since Rosenthal reports that Kansas City has spoken with the Marlins and Mariners about pitching-related trades, Miami might stand out as a logical team that could have interest in Fermin’s services.  The Fish are in need of catching help, and seem to be open to the idea of dealing more pitching, after already parting ways with a decent chunk of their rotation depth in other trades over the last couple of years.

As for the team’s free-agent pursuits, Lugo is a sensible and logical target both due to his strong platform season and the fact that the Royals also reportedly had interest in him a year ago. After spending the bulk of his career as a reliever with the Mets, Lugo signed a two-year, $15MM deal with the Padres, who offered him a chance to start and even included an opt-out in the event that he showed well in a starting role.

That’s exactly how things played out. Lugo took the ball 26 times and posted a 3.57 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate in a career-high 146 1/3 innings. He’s already 34, but Lugo figures to command a much nicer multi-year deal this time around — perhaps reaching three years in length. That the length of his deal will likely be capped due to age should be appealing to the Royals, who typically operate on a tight budget but do have some spending flexibility this winter. Picollo has already said that his club should have at least $30MM to spend.

Rays Acquire Jake Mangum As PTBNL From Bruján/Faucher Trade

By | at

The Rays announced that they have acquired outfielder Jake Mangum as the PTBNL in last month’s deal that sent infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and right-hander Calvin Faucher to the Marlins. The Rays received minor league infielder Erick Lara, right-hander Andrew Lindsey and a player to be named later, which is now revealed to be Mangum. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported the transaction shortly before the official announcement.

Remarkably, Mangum was also a PTBNL in a deal almost exactly one year ago. On December 7 of 2022, it was reported that he would go from the Mets to the Marlins as the PTBNL in the deal that sent Elieser Hernández and Jeff Brigham to Queens.

He spent 2023 in Triple-A, getting into 119 games at that level. He only struck out in 17.7% of his plate appearances but also only drew walks at a 5.4% clip and hit just five home runs. His .298/.346/.425 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 93. But Mangum is considered a plus defender and baserunner, stealing 16 bases on the year. His bat has also been in better shape before, such as hitting .306/.363/.441 in the minors in 2022 across multiple levels.

The Rays have a solid big league outfield at the moment but guys like Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena have been in trade rumors this winter. Whether they subtract an outfielder or not, Mangum will give them an extra bit of non-roster depth.

Marlins Re-Sign Devin Smeltzer To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Marlins are bringing back one of their most heavily used depth arms for another stint, as they’ve re-signed lefty Devin Smeltzer to a minor league deal, according to the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll presumably be in big league camp next spring.

Smeltzer, who just turned 28 this week, had a Ryan Weber/Yankees-esque run in Miami last year. The Marlins signed him to a minor league deal over the winter and selected his contract to the Majors on four different occasions. Each call to the big leagues was followed by a DFA after an appearance or two, and Smeltzer passed through waivers and accepted outright assignments to return to the club’s Triple-A affiliate each time.

It wasn’t the most direct path to doing so, but Smeltzer still picked up about six weeks of big league service time and pitched 22 1/3 MLB frames over the course of the year. He was knocked around for a 6.45 ERA in that time and posted similar numbers in 86 innings at the Triple-A level.

Lackluster performance notwithstanding, Smeltzer has a stronger track record dating back to his days with the Twins, who originally acquired the former fifth-round pick (2016) in a trade sending Brian Dozier to the Dodgers. Smeltzer pitched 140 innings of 3.99 ERA ball for Minnesota in parts of three seasons, showing a well below-average strikeout rate (16.6%) but strong command (6.4% walk rate). Smeltzer has regularly shown good command throughout his pro career and has experience both as a starter and a reliever. The Marlins also know he’ll likely be amenable to similar up-and-down usage in 2024 if necessary, making the reunion a fairly logical one.

AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top