Pirates Still Discussing Rotation Trades With Marlins, Exploring Free Agency
The Pirates have added Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales to their rotation this winter but remain in active pursuit of at least one more starter, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Bucs are in ongoing trade discussions with multiple clubs, including the Marlins, and are still showing interest in various free agents, per Mackey. FanSided’s Robert Murray also wrote this morning, after the Bucs signed Josh Fleming, that Pittsburgh is still active on both the trade and free agent markets.
Miami has reportedly entertained interest in starters Edward Cabrera, Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett at various points this offseason. Ballyhooed right-hander Eury Perez, who impressed with a 3.15 ERA through 91 1/3 innings as a 20-year-old rookie in 2023, is widely considered to be off limits.
Of the other Miami arms, Cabrera has generally been considered the “most” available. The 6’5″ 25-year-old is a former top-tier prospect himself but has dealt with command troubles through his first year-plus of big league service time and has not yet as established as the other three hurlers in question. Mackey indeed suggests that Cabrera is the likeliest target, reporting that a deal between the Bucs and the Fish would likely include an infielder such as Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales or Ji Hwan Bae.
Each of those three have varying levels of trade value themselves. Peguero has garnered the most prospect fanfare of the group but struggled in a 59-game MLB debut last year, hitting .237/.280/.374 in 213 plate appearances. Gonzales is a former No. 7 overall pick and top-100 prospect, but Baseball America now lists him ninth among Pittsburgh minor leaguers. Bae is another once-well-regarded prospect but exhausted his rookie eligibility last year with a tepid .231/.296/.311 showing through 371 plate appearances. All three are middle infielders, though Gonzales and Bae are considered limited to second base (and, in Bae’s case, the outfield).
Any member of that trio would figure to be just one of several pieces going to Miami, should a deal come together. Though Cabrera himself has some questions about his lackluster command, he’s still performed far better in the majors than any of those Pittsburgh infielders, and controllable young pitching is typically the most difficult type of asset to acquire.
Since making his big league debut in 2021, Cabrera has pitched 197 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA ball. That includes a rocky debut that lasted just 26 1/3 frames in ’21, however. Over the past two seasons, he sports a more encouraging 3.73 mark in 171 1/3 frames. Cabrera has averaged better than 96 mph on his heater, punched out an above-average 26.6% of his opponents and induced grounders at a strong 50.6% clip. Still, fielding-independent metrics are a bit more bearish on him than ERA due to his 13.7% walk rate. In that same 2022-23 window, Cabrera sports a 4.50 FIP and 4.42 SIERA.
If Cabrera can improve his command at all, he has the makings of a clear big league starter. His fastball and changeup give him a pair of above-average to plus offerings, with the change in particular befuddling lefties and thus mitigating typical platoon issues. Southpaws have flailed away at the pitch and produced a hapless .184/.291/.315 batting line in 433 plate appearances against Cabrera. Because his slider hasn’t been as consistently effective, Cabrera has struggled against right-handed opponents. They’ve hit just .231 against him but posted a huge .376 OBP and slugged .422.
Cabrera’s 1.147 years of big league service time put him on track to be arbitration-eligible as a Super Two player next winter. That’d make him arb-eligible four times rather than the standard three, but he’s under club control through the 2028 season regardless.
Beyond their interest in Miami’s starters, the Pirates have seen free agents Domingo German and Noah Syndergaard throw recently, per Mackey. Either figures to be available on a low-cost deal, and it seems entirely feasible that the Pirates could both trade for a pre-arb starter who won’t alter their payroll and still add another low-cost rotation piece on a one-year deal. Other veterans still on the market –beyond top starters Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, who are surely out of Pittsburgh’s price range — include Michael Lorenzen, Hyun Jin Ryu, Mike Clevinger and Eric Lauer.
Marlins Trade Peyton Burdick To Orioles
The Marlins have traded outfielder Peyton Burdick to the Orioles in exchange for cash, per announcements from the two teams. Baltimore transferred injured closer Felix Bautista to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Miami designated Burdick for assignment earlier this week when acquiring Darren McCaughan from the Mariners.
Burdick, who’ll turn 27 later this month, has seen limited MLB action with the Marlins in each of the past two seasons. He carries just a .200/.281/.368 batting line and a sky-high 38% strikeout rate in the big leagues, but that’s come in a tiny sample of 139 trips to the plate. Burdick has better numbers in the upper minors — he’s a .214/.324/.424 hitter in 952 Triple-A plate appearances — but strikeouts have been an issue throughout his professional tenure, evidenced by a 32.7% mark even in Triple-A.
Contact issues notwithstanding, Burdick offers plenty of loud tools that have long intrigued evaluators. He’s a former third-round pick whom FanGraphs has credited with plus-plus raw power (70-grade) in the past. He has better-than-average sprint speed, and scouting reports on the 2019 No. 82 overall draft pick have suggested that he has the tools necessary to stick in center field, or at the very least to profile as an above-average to plus defender in the corners.
Burdick has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Orioles can stash him in Triple-A Norfolk and rely on him as a bench option behind a deep and talented outfield that features a nice mix of veteran contributors and fast-rising prospects. Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander figure to open the season in the Baltimore outfield (from left to right), but top prospects Colton Cowser and/or Heston Kjerstad could force their way into the mix before long.
In Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna, the Orioles have a pair of out-of-options outfielders on the 40-man roster who aren’t considered locks to make the club. In the event that one or both of Hilliard/McKenna is lost via waivers late in camp, the addition of Burdick and his two minor league option seasons can help Baltimore retain some experienced outfield depth to help safeguard against injuries throughout the course of the season. And with Burdick just entering his age-27 season and still possessing six full seasons of club control, there’s always the off chance that he makes some strides following the change of scenery and forces his way into a longer-term role than anticipated at the time of acquisition, similar to Ryan O’Hearn last offseason.
Marlins, Curt Casali Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins are in agreement with free agent catcher Curt Casali on a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (on X). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link).
Casali, 35, spent last season as a member of the Reds. He signed a $3.25MM free agent deal for what proved to be his second stint in Cincinnati. Casali was penciled in as a third catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile. He didn’t see a ton of action, in part because of a foot injury that ended his season in mid-July. Casali took 96 plate appearances, hitting .175/.290/.200.
That marked Casali’s 10th season logging some major league action. He’s a career .220/.314/.380 hitter in just over 500 games. Casali draws a decent number of walks but pairs that with lofty strikeout totals that have generally capped his offensive ceiling. He has a solid reputation as a defender and is a familiar presence to Miami assistant GM Gabe Kapler, who managed Casali during the 2022 season in San Francisco.
The Marlins only have two catchers on the 40-man roster: Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes. It’s likely that Casali will open the season at Triple-A Jacksonville as the top depth player behind the dish. Fortes still has a minor league option remaining, so Miami could send him to Triple-A if Casali plays his way into the backup job during Spring Training.
Phillies Claim Kaleb Ort, Designate Diego Castillo
The Phillies announced today that they have claimed right-hander Kaleb Ort off waivers from the Marlins, with infielder Diego Castillo designated for assignment in a corresponding move. They also announced that right-hander David Buchanan has been signed to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Additionally, both right-hander Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Simón Muzziotti cleared waivers and will remain with the organization.
Ort, 32, has been bouncing around the league in recent months. He finished the regular season with the Red Sox but has since gone to the Mariners, Marlins and now the Phillies. The Fish designated him for assignment last week when they claimed righty Declan Cronin.
The righty has flashed some big velo, which has led to big strikeout numbers in the minors but not yet in the majors. He has thrown 51 2/3 innings in the majors over the past three years, averaging 96 miles per hour on his fastball but allowing 6.27 earned runs per nine innings. He only struck out 20.9% of batters faced while walking 10.2% of them.
His work in the minors has been more impressive. Over that same three-year span, he logged 97 2/3 Triple-A innings with just a 2.76 ERA. He struck out 31.1% of opponents while giving out walks at a 10.9% clip.
Those minor league numbers are clearly enticing to clubs around the league, based on how many transactions he’s been a part of this winter. He still has one minor league option remaining, which adds to the appeal. The Phils have a strong bullpen but can keep Ort in Triple-A until a need arises, if he holds onto his 40-man roster spot.
Castillo, 26, has also been roving around the league this offseason. He spent 2023 with the Diamondbacks but was designated for assignment in December. He has since gone to the Mets, Yankees and Phillies on waiver claims, but has been booted off a roster yet again.
He only played in one big league game last year, spending the vast majority of his time in Triple-A. He did a great job of getting on base but provided little power. In 556 plate appearances, he only hit three home runs but drew walks at a 17.4% clip. His .313/.431/.410 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 117.
In addition to that work at the plate, Castillo also has other attractive attributes. He can play all over the field, having lined up at all four infield spots in his career, as well as the outfield corners. There’s also enough speed for him to have stolen 13 bases last year. He still has an option remaining, allowing him to provide a club with some depth all around the diamond. The Phils will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
Buchanan, 35 in May, pitched for the Phils in 2014 and 2015, throwing 192 1/3 innings with a 5.01 ERA. He was stuck in the minors in 2016 and has been overseas since then, going to Japan and then Korea. He pitched for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2017 to 2019, putting up a 4.07 ERA in 433 2/3 innings. He then joined the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization and has been with them for the past four years with a 3.02 ERA in 699 2/3 innings.
The Phillies are set in the rotation with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez set to be the front five. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently spoke about the club’s desire to add more starting depth and then went out and signed Spencer Turnbull. They also have Kolby Allard, Dylan Covey and Max Castillo on the 40-man but Buchanan will give them a bit of non-roster depth.
Bellatti, 32, seemed to be breaking out in 2022 when he posted a 3.31 ERA with a 33.9% strikeout rate. But he couldn’t maintain that in 2023, as his ERA shot up to 5.11 and his strikeout rate dropped to 22.1%. Now out of options, he got nudged off the roster when the Phils acquired Michael Rucker last week and it seems none of the other 29 clubs were willing to grab him. He has previous career outrights and could have elected free agency, but the Phils announced that he will be in camp as a non-roster invitee, so it seems he has decided to stay.
Muzziotti, 25, got to make his major league debut in 2022 but was given just nine plate appearances. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, keeping his strikeout rate down to 15.5% but hitting just seven home runs. The resulting .296/.358/.404 slash line amounted to a wRC+ of 93. He stole 26 bases and can play all three outfield spots but no club was willing to take a chance on him. This is his first career outright so he’ll have to stick with the club in a non-roster capacity.
Yankees Claim Jordan Groshans, Designate Matt Krook
The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed infielder Jordan Groshans off waivers from the Marlins. New York designated lefty reliever Matt Krook for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Miami designated Groshans for assignment last Tuesday as the corresponding transaction when they traded for fellow infielder Jonah Bride. Groshans heads back to the AL East, the division in which he began his career. A highly-regarded talent in high school, he was drafted 12th overall in 2018 by the Blue Jays. His stock had dipped by the 2022 trade deadline, when Toronto flipped him to the Fish for relievers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop.
Groshans got to the big leagues not long after that trade. He appeared in 17 MLB contests, hitting .262/.308/.311 with one home run through his first 65 plate appearances. Miami optioned him back to Triple-A to open the 2023 campaign. Groshans spent the whole year there, thanks in large part to a mediocre offensive season.
The right-handed hitter put up a .243/.339/.330 slash line over 528 trips to the plate. He showed strong awareness of the strike zone, walking at a 12.5% clip while striking out only 17.4% of the time. Groshans provided very little impact when he made contact, though, hitting just six home runs, 20 doubles and a triple. He split his defensive work between the two corner infield spots, playing mostly third base. Groshans had experience in the middle infield early in his career but was always viewed by most prospect evaluators as a better fit at the hot corner.
Last year was Groshans’ first minor league option season. New York can still send him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the next two years if they keep him on the 40-man roster. He slots in at the back of an infield depth chart that also features Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera and Jorbit Vivas behind the starting group of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe.
Taking a flier on Groshans could come at the expense of Krook, a 29-year-old who made his major league debut last season. The Oregon product pitched in four MLB games, walking six batters and allowing 11 runs in four innings. While that’s obviously a dismal small-sample showing, Krook turned in a 1.32 ERA through 34 frames in Scranton. He punched out 39% of batters faced in Triple-A.
The 6’4″ southpaw clearly has swing-and-miss potential, yet he has never thrown strikes at a tenable rate. Krook walked over 18% of opposing hitters with the RailRiders last season. He’d issued free passes at a 12.1% rate there the year before that, leading New York to move him to the bullpen by 2023. That didn’t result in the necessary step forward in his command, but it’s possible another team takes a flier given the gaudy minor league whiff rates. The Yankees have a week to trade Krook or attempt to run him through waivers.
Marlins Hire Sara Goodrum, Brandon Mann
The Marlins announced that they have hired Sara Goodrum as director of special projects. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald relayed the news prior to the official announcement. They also announced that former big leaguer Brandon Mann has been brought aboard as a pitching strategist and announced their previously-reported hiring of Sam Mondry-Cohen as vice-president of player personnel. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reported the hiring of Mann last month.
Goodrum has been working for the Astros for the past two years. She was hired late in 2021 to be director of player development and served in that role until the organization parted ways with her in October. Prior to that, she worked as a minor league hitting coordinator with the Brewers.
Mann got a brief taste of major league action as a pitcher, getting into seven games for the 2018 Rangers. Since then, he’s worked as pitching coordinator for the Lotte Giants of the KBO and spent the past two years working with Driveline Baseball.
The Marlins have been busy reworking their baseball operations department this winter after general manager Kim Ng moved on. Peter Bendix was hired as president of baseball operations and has subsequently added Gabe Kapler as assistant general manager and Rachel Balkovec as director of player development.
Marlins, Twins Trade Nick Gordon For Steven Okert
The Marlins and Twins have agreed to a deal that will send infielder/outfielder Nick Gordon to Miami in exchange for left-hander Steven Okert. FanSided’s Robert Murray (X link) was the first to report Gordon was being traded to the Fish, while the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported (via X) that Okert was heading to Minnesota.
Gordon was the fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft, and a top prospect for much of his time in the Twins’ farm system even though his star began to dim due to injuries and struggles in the upper minors. With a career .248/.298/.361 slash line over 829 career Triple-A plate appearances, Gordon still made his MLB debut in 2021 appearing in 73 games for the Twins, and then took on a larger role with 443 PA over 136 games in 2022. Gordon earned that extra playing time by hitting .272/.316/.427 during the 2022 campaign, and his ability to play multiple positions made him a particularly valuable asset on a Minnesota team that beset by injuries.
Unfortunately, the injury bug again came for Gordon himself last year, as he fractured his right shin after fouling a ball off himself on May 17. This ended his MLB season after only 34 games, and Gordon made it back for six Triple-A games in September but wasn’t ready to return to the active roster before the end of the regular season. Gordon had been off to a tough start even before his injury, hitting only .176/.185/.319 in 93 PA.
The trade comes just a day after the results of Gordon’s arbitration hearing, and the panel sided with the Twins by deciding on a $900K salary for Gordon in 2024, rather than his desired figure of $1.25MM. Gordon is heading into his age-28 season but is still arb-controlled through the 2027 campaign as per his Super Two status. Okert offers only a bit less control, as was arb-eligible for the first of three times this winter and avoided arbitration by agreeing with the Marlins on a $1,062,500 salary for the 2024 season.
It was a little over a year ago that the Twins and Marlins lined up on the blockbuster four-player swap that sent Luis Arraez to Miami and Pablo Lopez to Minnesota. Today’s move isn’t nearly as high-profile, yet it does mark the fifth transaction between the two franchises within the last 13 months, as the Twins’ comfort level with Miami’s front office has continued even now that Peter Bendix has taken over from Kim Ng as the head of the Marlins’ baseball ops department.
Gordon has spent most of his time in the majors as a second baseman, center fielder, and right fielder, with a handful of appearances at shortstop, third base, and right field. The public defensive metrics haven’t been wowed by Gordon’s glovework at any of his positions, yet his sheer versatility makes him an interesting asset on Miami’s roster. Gordon isn’t likely to be answer to the Marlins’ needs at shortstop, though if Jon Berti ends up getting the bulk of playing time at short, Gordon might fill Berti’s old role as the chief utility option.
As Anthony Franco recently observed in a piece for MLBTR’s Front Office subscribers, the Marlins entered the offseason with quite a bit of left-handed relief depth, between Okert, Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk, and Andrew Nardi. Scott didn’t seem likely to be moved given his role as Miami’s projected closer, and unlike Okert, Scott and Puk both have minor league options remaining. Since Gordon is also out of options, this one-for-one swap helps both teams address some needs at the cost of a potentially expendable player.
A veteran of six MLB seasons with the Giants and Marlins, Okert posted a 2.89 ERA over 87 1/3 relief innings for Miami in 2021-22, with the aid of a .224 BABIP. Some course correction arrived in 2023, as Okert had a .295 BABIP and a 4.45 ERA over 58 2/3 frames, and a pretty mixed bag of peripherals. Okert’s strikeout and hard-hit ball rates were both well above average, but his walk and barrel rates were both below the league average. The 32-year-old Okert is also an extreme fly ball pitcher, so his effectiveness has tended to hinge on how well he fares at keeping the ball in the park.
On the plus side, Okert has good numbers against both left-handed and right-handed batters, and he has been a workhorse with 124 appearances over the last two seasons. He’ll now join Caleb Thielbar as the top southpaw options in Minnesota’s very solid relief corps, and rookie Kody Funderburk provides another interesting left-handed arm who could be shuttled back and forth from Triple-A as circumstances dictate.
Between payroll cuts and concerns over their TV contract, the Twins’ offseason has only started to kick into high gear over the last couple of weeks. Minnesota has now dealt both Jorge Polanco and Gordon in an effort to upgrade its pitching depth at the expense of a somewhat crowded group of position players, particularly within the infield. Even without Gordon, Willi Castro and Kyle Farmer can pick up the utilityman slack on the Twins’ roster, and top prospects Austin Martin and Brooks Lee are both expected to make their MLB debuts in 2024.
NL East Notes: Culberson, E-Rod, Lugo, JDM, Mesa
It wasn’t surprising that longtime clubhouse favorite Charlie Culberson rejoined the Braves on a minor league deal last month, though eyebrows were raised at the news that Culberson was attempting to become a pitcher after 11 MLB seasons as a utilityman. In an interview with Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Culberson said he began to pursue a pitching in earnest last August when he was playing with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, and he wasn’t entirely alien to the process given his 7 1/3 career innings of mop-up work at the big league level. “I loved pitching growing up, loved pitching through high school and here I am now getting a chance to try it on now toward — I’m not going to say ‘toward the end of my career’ but at this point in my career, I’m getting to try pitching,” Culberson said.
Culberson turns 35 in April, and Atlanta’s stacked lineup meant that he appeared in just one Major League game in 2023, despite several months on the active roster. It remains to be seen if pitching will provide Culberson with any clearer path to playing time, yet his fastball clocks in at 94mph, and his repertoire also consists of a split changeup and a cutter. He has also spent the last six months working with coaches and pitching instructors, and embracing the inherent difficulties of learning a new craft so deep into his career.
“For me, this has been a challenge making a position change, but I’m still playing baseball. I know how tough that is transitioning, and I’m sure it would be probably tougher transitioning out of baseball,” Culberson said. “Everything is just not gonna come easy for a lot of us in life, and at some point, you have to be ready and able to do something different, do something that’s not comfortable. Get out of your comfort zone.”
More from around the NL East…
- The Mets had some limited interest in Eduardo Rodriguez and old friend Seth Lugo this past offseason, The Athletic’s Will Sammon writes, though “neither exchange got serious.” Apart from a serious push to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Mets generally stayed away from pursuing any longer-term contract candidates, as such explorations into players like Rodriguez and Lugo were more akin to routine due diligence. Sammon notes that the same looks to be true of the Mets’ recent talks with J.D. Martinez, even if a probable one-year deal with Martinez would be less expensive than that it would’ve cost to land Rodriguez or Lugo. E-Rod ended up signing with the Diamondbacks for four years and $80MM, while Lugo (who pitched for New York from 2016-22) inked a three-year, $45MM contract with the Royals.
- Victor Victor Mesa was so highly touted as an international prospect that he received a $5.25MM bonus from the Marlins in 2018. Despite all the hype, however, Mesa has hit only .233/.289/.289 over 1211 career plate appearances in the minors, and The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson writes that his time in the Marlins organization now looks to be over. While there hasn’t been an official parting of the ways, the 27-year-old Mesa isn’t expected to attend Spring Training camp, and was temporarily placed on the restricted list last July after leaving the Triple-A team prior to the start of a series in Gwinnett. Victor Mesa Jr. was also signed to a $1MM bonus at the same time as his older brother, and the younger Mesa has developed into an intriguing prospect, ranked by Baseball America as the sixth-best player in Miami’s farm system.
Marlins Acquire Darren McCaughan, Designate Peyton Burdick
The Marlins are acquiring right-hander Darren McCaughan from the Mariners for cash considerations, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (X link). Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports (on X) that outfielder Peyton Burdick is being designated for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster.
McCaughan had been designated for assignment on Wednesday when Seattle claimed outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba off waivers from the Pirates. While the transaction log at MLB.com suggested that he’d been outrighted to Triple-A, MLBTR has confirmed that Seattle had not placed him on waivers and he remained in DFA limbo until tonight’s trade.
The Long Beach State product, who turns 28 next month, saw very brief MLB action with Seattle in 2021 and ’23. He has allowed 13 runs in 14 big league innings. McCaughan has spent most of the last three years working as rotation depth at Triple-A Tacoma. He started 25 games there a season ago, pitching to a 5.83 ERA across 139 innings. His 21.2% strikeout percentage was a little below average, but he kept his walks to a modest 7.2% clip.
A 12th-round pick in the 2017 draft, McCaughan has pitched parts of five campaigns at the Triple-A level. He has allowed 5.22 earned runs per nine in 460 1/3 innings with similar strikeout and walk numbers to last year’s marks. He’ll serve as rotation or multi-inning relief depth for the Fish. McCaughan still has a minor league option remaining, so Miami can keep him with their top farm team in Jacksonville for another year.
Adding some pitching depth squeezes out Burdick, whom the Marlins drafted in the third round in 2019. The Wright State product hit very well up through the Double-A level to emerge as one of the more interesting position player prospects in the Miami system. His offense has plateaued in Triple-A, though, and he hasn’t gotten much of a look in the majors. Burdick appeared in 46 big league games between 2022-23, hitting .200/.281/.368 while striking out 53 times in 139 plate appearances (a 38.1% clip).
The hit tool is the biggest question with Burdick, who possesses solid raw power upside. He hit 24 homers in 492 plate appearances with Jacksonville a year ago. Yet he also struck out almost 37% of the time, indicating that his pure contact skills remain a serious issue. His .219/.327/.448 Triple-A batting line was a little worse than league average.
Burdick has some experience in center field but is better suited for a corner outfield position. That puts a lot of pressure on his bat. He still has a pair of options remaining, so another team could keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future if they want to roll the dice on his power potential. Miami has a week to trade Burdick or put him on waivers.
Marlins, Kent Emanuel Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins are in agreement with left-hander Kent Emanuel on a minor league contract, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (on X). He receives a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training.
A North Carolina product, Emanuel has 10 big league games on his résumé. Those came back during the 2021 campaign, when he logged 17 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with the Astros. That year was cut short in June by a UCL injury that required surgical repair. Emanuel hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since then, largely because of injuries.
Houston waived him at the end of the ’21 campaign. He landed in Philadelphia via claim but opened the next year on the injured list as he worked back from the elbow procedure. Emanuel suffered a shoulder injury late in 2022 while pitching in the minors. Philadelphia let him go at the end of the year without getting him into a major league game.
The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Pirates a year ago. He started 13 of 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Indianapolis. Emanuel posted a lackluster 6.19 ERA over 84 1/3 innings, running a slightly below-average 20.1% strikeout rate in the process. Pittsburgh released him in August.
Miami could give Emanuel a look as rotation or long relief depth in camp. He’s likely to start the season with Triple-A Jacksonville. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Fish could move him between Miami and Jacksonville if he pitches well enough to earn a 40-man roster spot.