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Marlins, Austin Allen Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Austin Allen, as first indicated on the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. The former Padres and Athletics backstop will presumably vie for a roster spot in Spring Training with the Fish.

Allen, 29 next month, was a fourth-round pick of the Padres in 2015 who went from San Diego to Oakland as part of 2019’s Jurickson Profar trade. Baseball America ranked him 16th among San Diego farmhands at the time of the swap and 11th among A’s prospects a year later, but despite consistently impressing in Triple-A (.314/.365/.583 in 820 plate appearances), Allen has never gotten much of a look in the big leagues. Suspect glovework appears to be the primary reason, as he’s long been touted as a bat-first player with plenty of concerns regarding his ability to stay behind the plate. Allen has spent increased time at first base and designated hitter in recent seasons but remained productive in the upper minors.

Chances at the MLB level were sparse for Allen, particularly in Oakland, where standout Sean Murphy understandably logged the lion’s share of playing time and more defensive-minded players have typically served as his backup. Allen never received more than 35 plate appearances in a season with Oakland and saw only a career-high 71 during his debut campaign with San Diego. In 127 MLB plate appearances, he’s a .195/.252/.288 hitter.

There’s little doubting Allen’s power, however. He’s had four seasons in the minors with between 20 and 22 home runs, despite never topping 121 games played in any of those years. And, while he’s fanned at a troubling 37% clip in his small sample of MLB action, his 20.4% mark in a larger sample of Triple-A plate appearances is less concerning.

Allen is out of minor league options, so if he makes the Marlins’ roster at any point, he won’t be able to be sent back to Triple-A without first clearing waivers. He’s likely a depth signing behind Jacob Stallings and Nick Fortes, but Miami is fairly thin at catcher in the upper minors, so Allen could be the top option in the event of an injury. Of course, subsequent offseason additions, be they Major League acquisitions or further non-roster pickups, could see Allen pushed down the depth chart a bit.

Marlins Acquire Jake Mangum From Mets

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The Marlins have acquired minor league outfielder Jake Mangum from the Mets, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. He’s the player to be named later in the deal that sent Elieser Hernández and Jeff Brigham to Queens last month.

A college star at Mississippi State, Mangum hit .357/.420/.457 over four seasons in Starkville. A fourth-round senior sign in the 2019 draft, the switch-hitter has played three seasons in the New York farm system. He owns a .284/.346/.414 line in just under 900 professional plate appearances, including a .333/.365/.471 showing in 33 games for Triple-A Syracuse this year.

Mangum, 26, doesn’t bring much power to the table. Yet he puts the ball in play frequently and is capable of playing center field, giving him a chance to carve out a role as a fourth or fifth outfielder. Baseball America slotted him as the #28 prospect in the New York system entering the 2022 campaign.

Despite his decent minor league numbers, the Mets decided not to add Mangum to the 40-man roster to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft. He went unselected in that process this afternoon, and the Marlins acquired him within hours of ensuring they wouldn’t lose him in the Rule 5. He won’t require a 40-man roster spot in Miami, meaning he’ll provide the Fish some upper level non-roster depth.

Coaching Notes: Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Marlins

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The Angels are hiring Bill Haselman to be their new third base coach, per general manager Perry Minasian (relayed by Sam Blum of The Athletic). Haselman appeared for the Rangers, Red Sox, Mariners and Tigers during a 13 year big league career. In 589 games, the catcher put together a .259/.311/.409 line with 47 total home runs. After retiring in 2003, Haselman went straight into coaching, working for the Red Sox as a first base coach and then bullpen coach. He took a break from baseball coaching but returned in 2010, taking a managerial job at one of the Texas Rangers’ minor league affiliates.

He continued working with minor league affiliates of the Angels and Dodgers over the next few years, making it up to Triple-A where he took charge of Oklahoma City between 2016-18. He joined the Angels major league staff at the beginning of the year, succeeding Jose Molina as catching coach. Now he’ll take over third base coach duties on Phil Nevin’s staff.

Here’s some other coaching news from around the big leagues:

  • The Dodgers are promoting Aaron Bates to hitting coach, where he’ll work alongside Robert Van Scoyoc, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman revealed (h/t Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Bates had a brief stint in the majors in 2009, getting four hits in five games for the Red Sox. He bounced around the minor leagues plenty, but retired after the 2014 season with the Dodgers. While he played just 11 games that year, it was an entrance into the Dodgers organization that Bates hasn’t left. He held a series of jobs at their minor league affiliates before joining the big league team as assistant hitting coach in 2019. His promotion comes on the back of the departure of Brant Brown, who’s joined the Marlins.
  • The Mets have extended Glenn Sherlock’s contract through until 2024 as part of his shift from bench coach to catching instructor, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Sherlock played seven years in the minor leagues back in the 1980s, making it as high as Triple-A. He’s held coaching positions with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Pirates. Sherlock initially joined the Mets in 2017, serving as their third base coach and catching instructor before departing for Pittsburgh in 2020. He returned at the start of this year as bench coach, but will make way for Eric Chavez in that position.
  • New Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is bringing in former Cardinals hitting coach John Mabry into his team as assistant hitting coach, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Mabry spent eight years with the Cardinals as part of a 14 year big league career (that also included a stop at the Marlins) that ended in 2007. Mabry worked with the Cardinals between 2012-18 as a hitting coach, but left when then-manager Mike Matheny was fired. He’s since been working for the Royals. Schumaker and Mabry played together on the 2005 Cardinals team.

Marlins Interested In Justin Turner

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The Marlins have checked into Justin Turner’s market, The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reports (via Twitter).  Turner entered free agency after the Dodgers declined their $16MM club option on the veteran infielder.

Turner has spent the last nine seasons in Los Angeles, becoming a fan favorite and a key figure in the Dodgers’ success.  Despite being something of an afterthought early in his career with the Orioles and Mets, Turner blossomed once coming to L.A., hitting .296/.375/.490 with 156 homers over his 4220 plate appearances in a Dodger uniform.  The highlights included two All-Star appearances, NLCS MVP honors in 2017, and the Dodgers’ World Series championship in 2020.

Though 2022 was Turner’s age-37 season, he still provided a very solid 123 wRC+ by hitting .278/.350/.438 with 13 homers in 532 PA.  Given how Turner struggled badly in the first three months before catching fire later, it is quite possible that the lockout and the abbreviated Spring Training threw off Turner’s usual routine, leaving him in need of some time to get fully ramped up.  This bodes well for his chances of continuing to hit even as he gets deeper into his late 30’s.

The Dodgers’ decision to decline Turner’s option may have been simply more about flexibility than a reflection of the team’s feelings about Turner’s production going forward, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has said that the team wants to bring Turner back for the 2023 campaign.  Turner has re-signed with the Dodgers in past trips to free agency, and yet if he is looking for a new chapter, the Marlins are one of many teams that should have interest in a reliable veteran bat who might not be overly expensive.

MLBTR projected Turner for a one-year, $14MM contract, which should work even with the Marlins’ rather modest budget.  Turner’s veteran leadership would also boost a young Miami clubhouse, and he would be reunited with former Dodger co-hitting coach Brant Brown, who was recently hired as the Marlins’ hitting coach.

On the field, Turner’s production would upgrade a lineup that has been among the league’s worst for two seasons running.  Brian Anderson was non-tendered, leaving third base wide open for Turner — utilityman Joey Wendle can play all over the diamond, perhaps only getting some third base time when Turner is getting a DH day, or perhaps playing first base.  With the Marlins focusing on improving their contact hitting, Turner would be an excellent fit given his career-long ability to put the ball in play and avoid strikeouts.

Marlins Won’t Trade Sandy Alcántara, Open To Other Offers

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Ahead of the Winter Meetings, the Marlins have made it clearly known that Sandy Alcantara will not be traded, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that the Fish will listen to offers on “almost anyone” else.

Fresh off a unanimous Cy Young award, Alcantara seemed likely to remain with Miami through the offseason, with today’s news reaffirming that notion. Nevertheless, the Marlins have previously displayed a willingness to trade from their rotation surplus, sending Zach Thompson to Pittsburgh in exchange for catcher Jacob Stallings. However, the organization has made it clear that the 27-year-old, who is signed through the 2026 season with a 2027 team option, is off the table.

With that being said, the Marlins still boast a plethora of talent that may be moved as the team looks to boost the offensive production.

Pablo Lopez will likely be the next name floated in trade scenarios. The righty pitched to a strong 3.75 ERA in 180 innings with solid strikeout (23.6%), walk (7.2%), and ground ball rates (46.7%) during the 2022 season. Career-wise, Lopez has pitched 510 innings of 3.94 ERA baseball with a 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate, and 47.8% ground ball rate. Lopez, who turns 27 years old in March, is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and will be a free agent after the 2024 season. As of late July, the Marlins had yet to engage in extension discussions with Lopez’s management and were listening to trade offers for the hurler.

Jesus Luzardo is another potential Marlins’ trade candidate. Arriving from Oakland halfway through the 2021 season, Miami sent the hard-throwing lefty down to Triple-A to work on his mechanics before bringing him back to the major league roster as a starting pitcher. Despite missing over two months due to a left forearm strain, the 25-year-old was able to pitch 100 1/3 innings of 3.32 ERA baseball, with a hefty 30.0% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate, and 40.7% ground ball rate. As a super-two eligible player, Luzardo has four years of team control left before reaching free agency. However, despite his strong 2022 season, Luzardo stumbled to a 5.66 ERA in 154 1/3 innings across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, losing his role with the A’s staff before joining Miami.

Trevor Rogers is yet another talented and controllable Miami starter. A rookie All-Star in 2021, Rodgers experienced a sophomore slump with the Fish, pitching to a 5.47 ERA in 107 innings. Perhaps most troubling is that the lefty saw a sharp decline in his strikeout rate compared to his 2021 campaign (28.6% in 2021 compared to 22.2% in 2022). Nevertheless, the 25-year-old is only one year removed from a 2021 season in which he threw 133 innings of 2.64 ERA ball, finishing runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting to Reds’ second baseman Jonathan India. Rogers is only arbitration-eligible after the 2023 season, having missed this year’s super-two cutoff.

Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett are other starting pitchers that may find themselves the subject of trade talks as the offseason continues, but both of them have less than a year of service time and will likely factor into the Marlins’ future plans.

Minor League Moves: Hartlieb, Koch, Motter

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The Marlins added pitcher Geoff Hartlieb to a minor league deal, per Baseball America’s minor league transactions page. Harltlieb, 29 next week, pitched for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in 2022, tossing 61 innings of 5.16 ERA ball. He appeared in the big leagues for the Pirates and briefly the Mets, throwing 66 1/3 innings across three seasons with a 7.46 ERA. He had a slightly below average 20.5% strikeout rate against a 14.4% walk rate.

Here’s some other minor league signings from around the sport:

  • Matt Koch has landed a deal with the Rockies for 2023. The 32-year-old pitched a handful of innings for the Mariners in 2022, but spent most of the year at Triple-A, tossing 38 1/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball. He spent four seasons in Arizona, throwing 129 2/3 innings of 5.00 ERA ball across 16 starts and 20 relief appearances. He doesn’t walk many batters, but doesn’t strikeout many either, averaging just five per nine innings across his big league career.
  • The Braves re-signed Brooks Wilson and Alan Rangel to minor league deals. Wilson, 26, largely worked as a reliever at Double-A, tossing 44 innings with a 2.45 ERA while striking out 14.9 batters per nine innings. He made a handful of appearances at Triple-A, and should start the year there in 2023. Rangel, 25, made 26 starts at Double-A, working to a 5.81 ERA across 114 2/3 innings.
  • The White Sox brought back 30-year-old outfielder Mark Payton. He appeared in just eight games in the big leagues this year, tallying three hits in 25 plate appearances. He had a strong season at Triple-A, hitting .293/.369/.539 with 25 home runs. He’s yet to translate that to the majors though, and has a lifetime .164/.261/.180 line in 40 games for the Reds and White Sox since his 2020 debut.
  • Daniel Duarte re-signed with the Reds for 2023. Celebrating his 26th birthday tomorrow, Duarte spent most of the season on the injured list, but appeared in three games for the Reds in 2022, giving up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. At Triple-A, he worked to a 9.39 ERA across 7 2/3 innings.
  • The Athletics added right-handed pitcher Jasseel De La Cruz to a minor league pact. The 25-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Braves, and came up through their system as a solid pitching prospect. He struggled with injury in 2022, tossing just 26 1/3 innings in total, with 12 1/3 of those coming at Triple-A. There, he had an 8.03 ERA across seven appearances.
  • The Padres brought back Mexican pitcher Efrain Contreras on a minor league deal. The 22-year-old made 17 starts at High-A in 2022, working to a 5.74 ERA across 53 1/3 innings. While those numbers don’t look promising, he has averaged 10.2 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings across three seasons in the minor leagues.
  • Utilityman Taylor Motter has joined the Cardinals for the upcoming season. Motter, 32, has appeared in the big leagues for six different teams since 2016, hitting a combined .191/.262/.309 with ten home runs. He’s appeared at every defensive position outside of catcher and center field, but primarily handles the middle-infield spots. He made a handful of appearances for the Reds in 2022, but spent most of the year at Triple-A where he slashed .254/.357/.523 with 20 home runs for the Reds’ and Braves’ affiliates.
  • Puerto Rican shortstop Shawn Ross and the Pirates agreed to a minor league contract for the 2023 season. Ross, 22, played for Grand Junction in Independent ball in 2022, hitting 280/.408/.614 with 24 home runs.

Catching Market Rumors: Blue Jays, Contreras, Royals, Pirates

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Sean Murphy stands at the center of the offseason trade market for catchers, and the Oakland star is drawing plenty of interest. The Guardians, White Sox, Rays, Red Sox, Cardinals and even the Braves have all been linked to him recently, but the A’s are just one of two teams widely expected to trade a catcher this winter. The Blue Jays, who have a trio of Major League-caliber catchers on the roster — Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno — are also pondering the possibility of trading from that depth to address areas of need on the roster.

A trade involving one of the Toronto backstops, however, might not come together particularly quickly. In writing about the Twins’ desire to add to their catching corps, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported this week the Jays appear to be intent on waiting until some of the top names on the free-agent market have signed before they begin more earnestly engaging in talks with teams that miss out on their top targets. Jansen, with two years of club control remaining (as opposed to Kirk’s four and Moreno’s six), is the most logical trade option of the trio, but all three should draw considerable interest and prompt offers of some extent.

It’s worth bearing in mind, too, that one offer could accelerate the Jays’ willingness to make a deal, so even if their current preference is to let the market play out, that’s not a guarantee they’ll wait until Willson Contreras, Christian Vazquez and perhaps Murphy all have new teams before making a swap.

A few notes on the rest of the catching market…

  • The Marlins made an inquiry with Willson Contreras’ representatives but aren’t expected to be prominent players in his market, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Unsurprisingly, Heyman suggests that Contreras’ price tag was deemed too steep for the Fish, who received underwhelming production from Jacob Stallings after acquiring him from the Pirates last offseason. Miami has been linked to trade interest in Contreras at multiple points in the past, so it’s only logical they’d at least gauge his price tag now that he’s on the open market. The 30-year-old is the top catcher available in free agency and seems likely to command a guarantee of four-plus years after a .243/.349/.466 showing with the Cubs. He rejected a qualifying offer from Chicago, so he’d cost any signing team a draft choice.
  • The Royals have drawn some trade interest in young catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The 24-year-old made his major league debut this year and hit .217/.313/.393 with 18 home runs across 534 plate appearances. That’s roughly league average output once one accounts for the diminished offensive environment and Kansas City’s cavernous ballpark, by measure of wRC+. Melendez, a recent top prospect, showed a promising combination of power and plate discipline while splitting his time between catcher, the corner outfield and designated hitter. Kansas City can control Melendez for six seasons and seems unlikely to deal him, although his path to everyday reps behind the plate is blocked by face of the franchise Salvador Perez. The seven-time All-Star is under contract through 2025, and the deal contains a club option for the ’26 season. Rosenthal unsurprisingly writes that Kansas City has no interest in trading Perez.
  • Roberto Perez’s first season with the Pirates was cut short after 21 games by a severe hamstring strain that required season-ending surgery. The veteran backstop, soon to turn 34, is back on the open market. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speaks with a number of members of the Bucs’ pitching staff who hope the team re-signs Perez. Hurlers like JT Brubaker and Chase De Jong raved to Mackey about the longtime Cleveland backstop’s ability to connect with his pitchers and call a game. Perez has never been an impactful hitter, but he’s a two-time Gold Glove winner. The Pirates are sure to bring in some catching help this winter, as prospect Endy Rodriguez is currently the only player at the position on the 40-man roster.

Astros Notes: Abreu, Bagwell, Coaches

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For over a month now, it’s seemed like the White Sox would let Jose Abreu join a new organization and install Andrew Vaughn at first base. That became official this week, when Abreu signed with the Astros. However, the Sox didn’t just completely turn their back on him. “The White Sox made me an offer, it was a really good offer, but we’ll leave it at there,” Abreu said in his introductory press conference, per Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle.

Without any details, it’s hard to say exactly how hard the White Sox tried to retain Abreu, but it wasn’t enough either way. Abreu’s interest seems to have been quite wide, as it’s already been reported the Guardians made a three-year offer and he was also a top target of the Red Sox. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Padres also made a three-year offer while Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins were at the table as well. Regardless, what’s done is done and Abreu is an Astro now.

One person who was involved in the deal coming together was former Astro Jeff Bagwell, as Crane said he and assistant general manager Bill Firkus flew to flew to Miami to negotiate the deal with Abreu, per Rome. It was recently reported amid the departure of general manager James Click that Bagwell has been working with the front office in some capacity, sitting in on meetings and things of that nature. Bagwell is apparently one of Crane’s most trusted advisors and it seems his level of engagement has increased in Click’s absence. However, it doesn’t appear as though it will go much farther, as he insisted to members of the media that he does not want the open general manager position and wouldn’t interview for it if asked, per Rome.

In other Astros news, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports that Gary Pettis will return as the third base coach, with pitching coach Bill Murphy returning for 2023 as well. Pettis has been in that role since 2015 while Murphy just got his job title a year ago when Brent Strom parted ways with the club.

Marlins To Hire Brant Brown As Hitting Coach

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The Marlins have hired Brant Brown as their new hitting coach, as per SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (Twitter link).  Brown was one of the Dodgers’ two hitting coaches, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) reported earlier today that Miami was looking at Brown as the newest member of its staff.

Under new manager Skip Schumaker, the Marlins’ coaching staff will naturally look quite different in 2023.  Brown replaces Marcus Thames (who was hired by the Angels) in the hitting coach position, while Luis Urueta is the new bench coach, Jon Jay is the new first base coach, Jody Reed is the new third base coach, and Rod Barajas is joining the staff as a quality assurance coach.  Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. is staying put, after signing a new multi-year deal back in October.

This isn’t Brown’s first time in a Marlins uniform, as he played 41 games for the Fish back in 2000.  Brown played at the MLB level with the Marlins, Pirates, and (mostly) Cubs over five seasons, and then began his coaching career in 2007.  After a decade as a coach in the Rangers’ and Mariners’ farm system, Brown’s first MLB coaching assignment came prior to the 2018 season, when he joined the Dodgers as an assistant hitting coach.  While some of the specifics of Brown’s title have changed, he and Robert Van Scoyoc have shared the hitting coach duties since 2019.

A powerful and versatile lineup has been one of the keys to the Dodgers’ recent success, but the 51-year-old Brown will now face a new challenge in trying to jumpstart Miami’s lineup.  The Marlins have one of baseball’s more enviable cores of young pitching, yet the team has been unable to pair that pitching with even average offense.  The additions of Jorge Soler, Avisail Garcia, Jacob Stallings, and Joey Wendle last offseason didn’t help matters, and the Marlins are now hoping to have more of a focus on speed and contact hitting heading into 2023.

It remains to be seen how the Dodgers will replace Brown on the coaching staff, but Rosenthal cites assistant coach Aaron Bates as a logical candidate for a promotion, if L.A. sticks to the dual-hitting coach approach.  Bates has been the Dodgers’ assistant hitting coach for the last four seasons, and previously worked as a coach and coordinator from 2015-18 in the Dodgers’ minor league system.

Pirates Claim Lewin Diaz

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The Pirates have claimed first baseman Lewin Diaz off waivers from the Marlins, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Miami designated Diaz for assignment last week.

Diaz, 26, was a fairly high-profile amateur signing by the Twins back in 2013, inking a $1.4MM bonus and headlining their 2013-14 international free agency class. He ranked among Minnesota’s top prospects for several years due to his power potential and a plus glove at first base, but the Twins flipped him to Miami in a 2019 trade that netted them veteran reliever Sergio Romo and pitching prospect Chris Vallimont.

With the Marlins, Diaz elevated his profile early on before scuffling through parts of three Major League auditions. He’s logged big league time each season since 2020 but produced only a .181/.227/.340 batting line with a 28.9% strikeout rate against just a 5.5% walk rate. Despite his 6’4″ frame and considerable raw power potential, Diaz hasn’t yet hit the ball with much authority in the Majors; he does have 13 home runs in 343 plate appearances, but Diaz’s average exit velocity (88.1 mph), barrel rate (8%) and hard-hit rate (32.6%) are all pedestrian, at best. He’s also been quite prone to pop-ups, with more of his fly-balls (14.4%) registering as infield flies than as home runs (11.7%).

That said, Diaz only just turned 26 years old and has at least one demonstrably excellent skill that’ll play at the Major League level: his glove. He’s only logged 753 Major League innings at first base but still has eye-popping totals in Defensive Runs Saved (16) and Outs Above Average (9). The offensive profile is still quite clearly a work in progress, but Diaz is a .250/.325/.504 hitter in two Triple-A seasons. At his best, he’s tattooed right-handed pitching in the minors, creating some hope that he could at least be a platoon option for the Buccos.

Diaz is out of minor league options, so he’ll either have to break camp with the Pirates next spring or else be designated for assignment once again. If the Pirates at any point are able to succeed in passing him through waivers, Diaz could be retained without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster, though his glove alone might make that difficult.

Diaz is the second option the Bucs have acquired to potentially address their need at first base in the still-young offseason. Pittsburgh also acquired lefty-swinging Ji-Man Choi in a trade with the Rays, though Choi recently underwent elbow surgery. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training. Diaz is the far superior defender between the two, so if he indeed earns a spot on the Opening Day roster next spring, that could push the 31-year-old Choi into the Pirates’ designated hitter slot. Between Diaz, Choi and late-season acquisition Miguel Andujar, the Pirates have a number of players who could vie for time at first base and designated hitter. Andujar’s right-handed bat would be a fine complement to either Diaz or Choi, and Andujar has ample experience in left field as well.

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