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Aneurys Zabala

Tigers Sign Aneurys Zabala To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have added right-hander Aneurys Zabala on a minor league deal, according to his MLB transaction log. Zabala was designated for assignment by the Marlins in September last year, and became a free agent at the end of the season.

Zabala, 26, had a very brief stint in the majors last year for Miami, pitching in two games and throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he tossed 17 2/3 innings of of 9.51 ERA ball, where his strong 25.2% strikeout rate was offset by an unsightly 23.5% walk rate.

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Mariners back in 2014, Zabala bounced around a few teams in addition to Seattle coming up through the minors, getting stints within the Dodgers, Reds and Phillies organizations, before landing with the Marlins. He’s flashed a 99 mph fastball, but has generally struggled with the walks. That became far more pronounced in 2022, as it’s tended to hover in the 12-15% range rather than the 23.5% mark it wound up at in 2022.

34 Players Become Free Agents

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The Wild Card round of the 2022 postseason begins today, but for the majority of teams and players, the offseason is now underway. With that will come plenty of roster formalities, including veteran players who’ve been outrighted off their respective teams’ rosters reaching minor league free agency. This week, there have been 34 such instances throughout the league, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Marlins Designate Aneurys Zabala For Assignment

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Between games of today’s doubleheader against the Rangers, the Marlins designated reliever Aneurys Zabala for assignment, tweets Daniel Álvarez Montes of El Extrabase. The move clears space on the active roster for lefty Braxton Garrett, who has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list to take the ball in game two. Miami’s 40-man roster tally falls to 39.

It’s an incredibly quick turnaround for Zabala, whose contract was just selected this afternoon. He was in the bullpen for the first game of the twin bill but didn’t make an appearance in a 3-2 loss. He now loses the roster spot he occupied for a few hours, although he’ll at least collect a major league salary for today and any time he spends in DFA limbo.

Zabala has been selected and designated for assignment on three separate occasions this year. He’s made only two MLB appearances — the first of his career — tossing 2 2/3 scoreless frames while averaging over 99 MPH on his heater. The 25-year-old has had a tough season in Triple-A Jacksonville, walking more than a quarter of batters faced en route to a 9.47 ERA through 19 innings. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency, but he’s already foregone that possibility once this year.

Marlins Select Aneurys Zabala

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The Marlins have made a few roster moves prior to today’s doubleheader against the Rangers, per their transactions tracker at MLB.com (hat tip to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Right-hander Aneurys Zabala has been selected to the roster while fellow righty Bryan Hoeing has been recalled as the club’s “29th man” for the twin bill. Left-hander Andrew Nardi was optioned in a corresponding move. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster for Zabala.

Zabala, 25, was first selected to the club’s roster back in June, though he was designated for assignment just two days later. He cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Triple-A. He got a second selection in August but was designated again after just a few days, again clearing waivers and being outrighted. Since that was his second outright, he had the ability to reject the assignment and become a free agent but chose to stick with the Fish. He’ll now get a third stint on the roster.

Zabala has pitched just 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the majors so far, in between those transactions. In the minors, he’s been getting his fare share of strikeouts but struggling with control. In 22 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s struck out 26.3% of batters faced but walked an awful 24.6%. For context, the major league average walk rate for a reliever is 9.2% this season. No doubt thanks to those free passes, Zabala’s minor league ERA for the year is 9.82.

Outrights: Thomas, Charles, Zabala

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A few players recently designated for assignment have passed through waivers unclaimed. We’ll round up the latest outrights around the game.

  • The Angels announced that outfielder Dillon Thomas has been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 29-year-old has the right to refuse the assignment in favor of free agency, having previously been outrighted by the Mariners last year. Thomas has only played in eight MLB games this season, but he’s bounced around the waiver wire a bit. Signed to a minor league deal by the Halos, he was briefly selected onto the big league roster. He was quickly waived, landed with the Astros, then went back to Orange County before going unclaimed. Thomas has an excellent .294/.389/.500 showing through 319 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
  • A’s right-hander Wandisson Charles cleared waivers and was sent outright to Double-A Midland, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. It’s the first career outright for Charles, so he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency at the moment. The 25-year-old (26 next month) will stick with the RockHounds and try to play his way back onto the 40-man roster. Charles has a power arm, but he’s had a disastrous season in Double-A. He owns a 9.53 ERA across 34 innings of relief, striking out and walking batters at a matching 18.6% clip. If he’s not selected back onto the 40-man by the start of the offseason, Charles would qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the year.
  • Marlins reliever Aneurys Zabala has been sent outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his MLB.com transactions log. It’s the second outright of the season for the righty, who has the right to elect free agency this time around. Zabala has made his first two MLB appearances this season, working 2 2/3 scoreless frames while averaging north of 99 MPH on his fastball. Zabala clearly has high-octane stuff, but he’s walked an unacceptable 27.9% of batters faced in Triple-A this year. Those strike-throwing concerns have prevented him from finding a roster spot despite his elite arm strength.

Marlins Activate Elieser Hernandez, Designate Aneurys Zabala For Assignment

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The Marlins have activated right-hander Elieser Hernandez from the injured list and designated Aneurys Zabala for assignment, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

Hernandez has long been thought of as a potential rotation stalwart for the Marlins, but the 27-year-old struggled mightily to start the year. After nine starts and five relief appearances, Hernandez holds a 6.11 ERA (6.81 FIP) across 53 frames on the year.

It isn’t clear what Hernandez’s role will be upon his return. He could be asked to step into a rotation currently missing both Trevor Rogers and recent debutant Max Meyer. Should manager Don Mattingly prefer to move forward with Jesus Lazardo, Braxton Garrett, and Edward Cabrera behind Pablo Lopez and Cy Young contender Sandy Alcantara, though, he may instead slot into a bullpen that recently lost both Zach Pop and Anthony Bass in a deadline trade with the Blue Jays.

Something of a minor-league journeyman, the 25-year-old Zabala made his big-league debut this season and allowed no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of action. He’s logged a 5.58 ERA in parts of eight seasons in the minors between the Mariners’, Dodgers’, Reds’, Phillies’, and Marlins’ systems. Should he clear waivers, he’ll likely head back to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he pitched 11 2/3 innings 10.03 ERA ball early in the season.

Marlins Reinstate Jesus Luzardo, Designate Jake Fishman, Select Aneurys Zabala

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5:00pm: The Marlins later announced further moves to reporters, including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Righty Aneurys Zabala has had his contract selected, with Jordan Holloway being transferred to the 60-day IL in order to make room on the roster. Holloway was placed on the IL a few days ago with an elbow impingement and evidently isn’t expected back in the next couple of months. Today’s placement puts the rest of his season in jeopardy. Zabala made his MLB debut earlier this year, logging two thirds of an inning.

2:55pm: The Marlins have announced to reporters, including Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, a couple of roster moves. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, while fellow lefty Jake Fishman has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Luzardo, 24, was acquired from the Athletics in last year’s Starling Marte trade. Baseball America considered him one of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball in both 2019 and 2020 but he struggled in 2021. Between the two clubs, he put up a 6.61 ERA last year, but nonetheless was expected to carry a rotation spot for the Marlins here in 2022.

He was able to make six starts early in the season, which came with both encouraging and discouraging results. His 34.5% strikeout rate was excellent, but it came with a very high 13.4% walk rate. He was sitting on a 4.03 ERA through 29 innings when he landed on the shelf due to a forearm strain. He now returns after over two months out of action.

The Marlins came into the season expecting for their rotation to be a strength, but injuries have taken a toll on that plan. Even with Luzardo now off the IL, the club still has Edward Cabrera, Daniel Castano, Trevor Rogers and Max Meyer on the shelf, with Meyer set to undergo Tommy John surgery and likely miss much of 2023 as well. Luzardo will jump into the mix next to Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Nick Neidert and Braxton Garrett.

As for the appropriately-named Fishman, the Marlins just selected him to the club a few days ago but have now thrown him back. The 27-year-old got into one MLB game, making his debut, logging 3 1/3 frames before losing his roster spot. In 43 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, he put up a 1.87 ERA with a 54.3% ground ball rate, 24.4% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. Given that strong showing, he’s likely to garner interest from other clubs, especially because lefties are always in demand.

Outrights: Marinan, Zabala

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A couple of players recently made it through the waiver wire unclaimed and will not be changing organizations…

  • The Reds announced that right-hander James Marinan cleared waivers and has been outrighted to High-A Dayton. He was just added to the club’s 40-man roster last November, ahead of the Rule 5 draft that ended up getting canceled by the lockout. Despite having never pitched above High-A, the Reds evidently thought he was worth rostering based on his high strikeout numbers. However, he’s had a poor showing so far this year, putting up an ERA of 7.71 through 32 2/3 innings for Dayton. The long ball has been a particular problem for him, as he’s already allowed 10 homers in that sample. He’ll stick with Dayton and try to get into a better groove, though without occupying a 40-man roster spot.
  • The Marlins announced that right-hander Aneurys Zabala has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Pensacola. Zabala made a very brief appearance on the club’s 40-man roster, being designated for assignment just a couple of days after his selection. He was selected to take the spot of Garrett Cooper, who went on the COVID IL but returned just two days later, bumping Zabala right back off. During that brief cameo, Zabala was able to face three batters in his lone appearance, allowing a double before recording a fly out and a strikeout. He’s thrown 8 2/3 innings in the minors this year with an unsightly 10.38 ERA. His impressive 27.1% strikeout rate has been largely offset by his matching 27.1% walk rate.

Marlins Designate Aneurys Zabala For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated reliever Aneurys Zabala for assignment, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The move clears roster space for first baseman Garrett Cooper, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list.

It’s the reversal of a transaction from just a couple days ago, as Zabala was selected when Cooper hit the IL on Saturday. That the latter’s absence was so brief implies his stay away from the club was merely related to virus-like symptoms. Cooper, who is hitting an excellent .315/.389/.473 on the season, figures to reassume a middle-of-the-order role. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored this afternoon, the right-handed hitter has quietly emerged as one of the game’s more productive bats in recent seasons.

Zabala loses his roster spot after making one MLB appearance, which was his big league debut. The 25-year-old had spent time in the farm systems of the Mariners, Dodgers, Reds and Phillies before finally getting his first crack against major league hitters. Zabala recorded two outs, including a strikeout of Kyle Tucker, during yesterday’s loss to the Astros. The 6’3″ hurler averaged a blistering 99.5 MPH on his fastball during that look, according to Statcast.

The Marlins will presumably try to run Zabala through waivers in the next few days. Assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll likely return to Triple-A Jacksonville on outright assignment. He’s allowed ten runs with 13 walks and 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings with the Jumbo Shrimp this season.

Marlins Place Garrett Cooper On IL, Select Aneurys Zabala

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The Marlins have placed first baseman Garrett Cooper on the injured list without a designation, implying that Cooper’s absence is related to COVID-19.  Right-hander Aneurys Zabala will take Cooper’s spot on the active roster, as the Marlins selected Zabala’s contract from Double-A.

It isn’t known if Cooper has tested positive for the virus or if he is being held out for precautionary reasons due to symptoms or a close-contact situation.  Cooper was removed from yesterday’s game due to body cramping, and Marlins skipper Don Mattingly told reporters (including The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson) today that Cooper “was not feeling good overnight.  We did some testing on him and we’ll see where that goes.”

Cooper did test positive for the virus back in 2020, when the Marlins were hit with a huge COVID outbreak that sidelined several members of the roster.  That absence cost Cooper a month of the shortened 2020 season, and it added to the long list of IL absences Cooper has faced in his six-year MLB career.  Though he has only 291 games on his resume, Cooper has performed quite well when healthy, and is currently in the midst of what might be his best season.  The first baseman is hitting .315/.389/.473 with four home runs over his first 211 plate appearances of the 2022 campaign.

Cooper has split his time between DH and first base this season, and Jesus Aguilar will now likely see more first base time while Jorge Soler is the likeliest candidate for more DH duty.  Jon Berti and Willians Astudillo are both utilitymen, and their versatility will be more valuable than ever as the Marlins try to weather this stretch with Cooper, Brian Anderson, and Joey Wendle all on the injured list.

Zabala had already been with the Marlins on their taxi squad, and the 25-year-old is now set to make his Major League debut.  Originally an international signing for the Mariners, Zabala began his pro career as a 17-year-old back in 2014, and he has since bounced around to the farm systems of the Dodgers, Reds, and Phillies before landing with Miami this year.  Control has been a problem for Zabala throughout his career, contributing to his 5.48 ERA over 286 innings in the minors.

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