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Deven Marrero

Diamondbacks Designate Deven Marrero

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The Diamondbacks have designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert was among those to tweet after last night’s game.

Marrero had been working back from a stint on the disabled list. Clearly, the organization decided not to bring him back onto the active roster. Marrero is out of options, so this was the only other choice.

Soon to turn 28, Marrero was picked up from the Red Sox just before the start of the season. Valued highly for his glovework, the former first-rounder has never come around with the bat. In 85 plate appearances this year, he managed only a .167/.224/.205 slash line, leaving him with a 39 wRC+ in 343 trips to the MLB plate over the past four seasons.

Red Sox Acquire Josh Taylor From Diamondbacks

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired minor league left-hander Josh Taylor from the Diamondbacks as the player to be named later in the trade that sent infielder Deven Marrero to Arizona back on March 24.

Originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent, Taylor was traded to the D-backs alongside right-hander Chris Oliver back in the 2015 trade that sent the top international bonus slot from Arizona to Philadelphia. He’s in his first full season as a reliever after struggling as a starter in the minors and has pitched to a 2.81 ERA with a 20-to-5 K/BB ratio in 16 innings, albeit as a 25-year-old pitching against younger competition at the Class-A Advanced level. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that Taylor is headed to Boston’s Double-A affiliate in Portland, Maine.

Last season, Taylor worked to a 4.96 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and a 49 percent ground-ball rate in 98 minor league innings — 97 of which came at the Double-A level. He’s not considered to be among the D-backs’ 30 best prospects by either MLB.com or Baseball America.

The Marrero pickup, thus far, has provided the Diamondbacks with some quality glovework at multiple infield positions but netted sub-par value with the bat. In 56 plate appearances, Marrero is hitting just .196/.250/.235, with a triple representing his lone extra-base hit of the season. Of course, he’s played sparingly and can’t be sent down to sharpen his approach with regular at-bats, given the fact that he’s out of minor league options.

Diamondbacks Acquire Deven Marrero

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The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve acquired infielder Deven Marrero from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Marrero was out of minor league options.

A former first-round pick by Boston, Marrero hasn’t been able to live up to his pre-draft billing. The 27-year-old righty hitter owns a career slash line of just .208/.259/.309, earning just 258 plate appearances at the big league level across the past three seasons. He’s struck out well over 30% of the time during that span.

Even in the upper minors, Marrero hasn’t shown a whole lot of promise. He hit .240/.266/.361 at Tripe-A Pawtucket last seasons with a meager 3.1% walk rate and a wRC+ of just 69. Only once in the minors has he managed to exceed a .375 slugging percentage, and though he managed to steal at least 25 bases in each of his first two minor league seasons, that hasn’t translated to the upper minors or at the MLB level.

The Sox have played Marrero at second base, shortstop and third base throughout his major league career, but the club had no real need to hold onto both him and fellow utilityman Brock Holt. The Diamondbacks, however, were in need of an outfielder following a recent pectoral injury to Steven Souza Jr., and with a particular urgency since they’re rumored to be considering optioning outfielder Yasmany Tomas to the minors. While Marrero has no experience in the outfield, his presence on the roster should allow Chris Owings to shift to the outfield for the time being.

 

Heyman’s Latest: Cobb, Padres, Orioles, McHugh, Dodgers, Ubaldo

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Here’s the latest from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman via his weekly notes column on all 30 teams…

  • Before Alex Cobb signed with the Orioles, “the Padres got involved late on” the free agent righty’s market.  It would’ve been another eye-popping move for a team that surprised many by signing Eric Hosmer, though the Padres could’ve simply been doing some due diligence — Cobb likely drew interest from several seemingly-unlikely teams as he continued to languish on the open market.  The Padres also had at least some interest in Jake Arrieta, another big-name free agent starter who was still unexpectedly available into March.  Given A.J. Preller’s penchant for aggressive moves and the Padres’ prospect depth, I wouldn’t be surprised if San Diego made a big in-season trade to further kickstart its rebuilding process.
  • After Lance Lynn signed with the Twins for one year and $12MM, the Brewers offered Cobb a contract with the same terms.  Cobb rejected the deal, as it was known that he was looking for multiple years and wasn’t willing to settle for a one-year pact.  It should be noted that Lynn himself could’ve had at least one multi-year offer on the table, but opted instead to sign the one-year deal with Minnesota since he was excited about their potential as a contender.
  • Even with Cobb now in the fold, the Orioles may still look to add more starting pitching depth beyond their current starting five of Cobb, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner, and Chris Tillman.  Heyman opines that Scott Feldman could be a possibility, as the righty “was beloved” by members of the Baltimore organization during his previous stint with the club in 2013.
  • Trade buzz continues to circle Astros right-hander Collin McHugh, as Heyman writes that McHugh “could be had in a trade,” as Houston has a surplus of rotation-worthy arms.  The Twins and Orioles were both linked to McHugh in rumors earlier this winter, though those teams are probably no longer in the running due to their subsequent pitching additions.  McHugh is owed $5MM this season and is under control through 2019 in his final arbitration-eligible season, making him a nice cost-effective addition for potential suitors.
  • While none of these teams were specifically cited as being interested in McHugh, Heyman listed the Reds, Brewers, Mariners, and Rangers as teams that are looking for pitching.  All four of the clubs have dealt with some injury setbacks in Spring Training, so further additions could be more akin to fill-in options rather than major acquisitions.  Texas, however, does seem to be at least considering making a higher-priced add, given how the Rangers showed some recent interest in Cobb and Greg Holland.
  • The Dodgers seem prepared to go with in-house options to replace Justin Turner while the star third baseman is sidelined with a fractured wrist.  The New York Post’s Joel Sherman recently floated the idea of L.A. acquiring either Deven Marrero or Brock Holt from the Red Sox to help fill the third base void, though Heyman writes that the Dodgers haven’t been in touch with the Sox about either player.  Holt and the out-of-options Marrero are both reportedly potential trade candidates due to a roster crunch.
  • The Mets haven’t seriously discussed the possibility of signing Ubaldo Jimenez, Heyman hears from a person connected with the team.  The past relationship between Jimenez and Mets manager Mickey Callaway (Jimenez had a strong 2013 season with the Indians when Callaway was Cleveland’s pitching coach) led to some rumors that New York could consider adding the veteran right-hander as rotation depth.  Jimenez is coming off rough seasons in both 2016 and 2017 with the Orioles, and as a result has drawn no known interest all winter as he tries to catch on with another club.

AL East Notes: Marrero, Holt, Swihart, Machado, Morales

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Alex Cobb’s agreement with the Orioles is the day’s biggest news out of the AL East, but here are some more notable items from around the division…

  • The Red Sox seem to be inclined to carry the out-of-options Blake Swihart on the active roster to open the season, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.  While the club obviously feels it doesn’t want to lose out on his upside, that decision would also create some constraints elsewhere — perhaps forcing the Sox to make a move instead with one of their utility infielders.  Indeed, as Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal writes (subscription link), the Sox have begun putting out feelers with other organizations regarding Deven Marrero (who is also out of option) and Brock Holt. While it’s not clear that either has drawn significant interest, it seems the team is preparing to move one of them or another similar player as part of its roster-maintenance efforts at the tail end of camp.
  • Manny Machado’s move back to shortstop was inspired by his love for the position, the Orioles star tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, not as a way to better position himself for free agency next winter.  “I think a lot of people are saying, ’He’s going over there because he wants more money or more value.’  It doesn’t come down to money or more value,” Machado said.  “I’ve already established myself as a player.  I’m worth what I’m worth already.  It doesn’t matter if I’m at short or third.  The transition over there is because that’s where my heart is.  That’s what I do.”  Machado’s preparation for the position switch included changes to his diet and offseason training regimen, and scouts have given promising early reviews about Machado’s defensive prowess at shortstop.
  • Kendrys Morales lost weight in the offseason and is hoping to adjust his swing so that he hits fewer grounders in 2018, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes.  Due to his lack of speed and opposing fielders playing the shift, Morales grounded into 22 double plays last season, which helped contributed to his below-average 97 wRC+ despite 28 homers and lots of hard contact.  The subpar offensive performance and Morales’ lack of defensive contributions made him a sub-replacement level (-0.6 fWAR) player in his first year with the Blue Jays.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Yankees, Red Sox, Royals

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The minor league contract left-hander Wade Miley signed with the Brewers last month contains a March 22 opt-out clause, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets.  Miley can ask for his release if the Brewers don’t inform him that he has made the club by then, McCalvy adds. The latest we’ll know Miley’s fate is March 24, as he’s an Article XX(B) free agent whom Milwaukee must either cut loose or put on its roster by that date. The 31-year-old Miley has a legitimate chance to win a spot in the Brewers’ rotation, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentintel suggested Saturday.

  • More on the Brewers, who are “monitoring the catching market,” according to Haudricourt. Their backstops at the moment are Manny Pina and Jett Bandy, while Stephen Vogt will open the season on the disabled list, manager Craig Counsell told McCalvy and other reporters Sunday. Assuming the Brewers don’t change their minds and release Vogt, his $3.065MM salary will become guaranteed on Opening Day. Vogt has been out since late February with a capsule strain in his right shoulder. He has a fan in Brewers general manager David Stearns, who said (via Haudricourt): “We want him here. Stephen brings a lot to this team.”
  • Even after acquiring Brandon Drury from the Diamondbacks in late February, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team would give Miguel Andujar a chance to win its starting third base job. That bid officially came to an end Sunday, as the Yankees optioned the highly touted Andujar to Triple-A, setting up Drury to start at the hot corner. The 23-year-old Andujar held his own during spring action, though, with a .916 OPS in a team-leading 42 at-bats.
  • Red Sox infielder Deven Marrero is drawing interest from other clubs, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. Marrero’s out of options, meaning the Red Sox will have to roster him, deal him or risk losing him for nothing in the coming week-plus. The 27-year-old saw action across the infield with the Red Sox from 2015-17, but he produced a meager .208/.259/.309 batting line over that 258-plate appearance sample size.
  • Before reliever Justin Grimm signed with the Royals on Sunday, he consulted with his friend, former Cubs teammate and ex-KC closer Wade Davis, per Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star. Davis, a Royal from 2013-16 (and a World Series champion in ’15), offered glowing reviews for the franchise and the city, which helped the Royals reel in Grimm. “He had really nice things to say about the city of Kansas City, the organization, the training staff, the coaches, from the top down,” Grimm said. “That’s one guy that I look up to … It definitely swayed my decision.”

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tulo, Rays, Drury

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With J.D. Martinez heading to Boston, the Red Sox are facing somewhat of a roster crunch, writes Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. It is not, however, at first base as many have suggested. Manager Alex Cora suggested Tuesday that he views Hanley Ramirez as his No. 3 hitter and primary first baseman, even though the team re-upped Mitch Moreland on a two-year deal this winter. As Drellich points out, though, each of Moreland, Ramirez and Martinez have dealt with injury issues in recent years, so Moreland still figures to get his share of at-bats.

Rather, Drellich observes, the bigger crunch will be on the bench. Sandy Leon is the favorite to serve as the backup catcher, and one of Moreland or Ramirez will be on the bench most days. The Sox have two out-of-options players in Deven Marrero and Blake Swihart that are current bench options, but they also have Brock Holt who agreed to a $2.2MM arbitration salary earlier this winter. That deal, like the vast majority of arb deals, is non-guaranteed, but Holt’s versatility has been valuable for the Sox in recent seasons and he seems unlikely to be cut loose. Holt does have minor league options remaining, though obviously paying him to play in Triple-A is suboptimal as well.

A bit more on the Sox and their division…

  • The Red Sox are unlikely to trade Jackie Bradley after signing J.D. Martinez this week, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. That’s not much of a surprise, as Bradley’s name hasn’t come up on the rumor circuit much in recent months, and the trio of Bradley, Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts should be among the best defensive outfield units in all of baseball.
  • The Blue Jays are still seeking upgrades after last week’s signing of lefty Jaime Garcia to round out the rotation, and GM Ross Atkins suggested to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that there’s a strong likelihood that they’ll make a move before Opening Day (Twitter links). Atkins somewhat candidly said he felt there’s about a 90 percent chance the Jays have another addition in store, citing a reliever as the likeliest pickup. Notably, Atkins added that improving at backup catcher, where light-hitting Luke Maile projects as the reserve behind Russell Martin, “is less likely at this point.”
  • Troy Tulowitzki is making progress from last year’s ankle injury, which included torn ligaments in his foot as well as a compression factor, writes Nicholson-Smith in a full column. However, he has yet to begin running this spring. Tulowitzki’s goal is to be ready for Opening Day, though the 33-year-old veteran said he’s not putting any timelines on his recovery and won’t risk a setback by pushing himself too far. He fielded grounders thrown to him by the coaching staff today, though the drills “weren’t designed to test his range too much” just yet, per Nicholson-Smith. Even if Tulo isn’t ready for Opening Day, the Blue Jays are much better prepared from a depth vantage point up the middle, where they’ll have offseason trade acquisitions Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz backing up Tulowitzki and Devon Travis.
  • Following the trade of Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, the Rays plan to use a four-man rotation of Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Faria and Blake Snell for the first six weeks of the season or so, manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The increased amount of off-days in the schedule this year due to the season’s earlier start will allow the club to use fifth starter Matt Andriese as a multi-inning reliever. The Rays, unsurprisingly, plan to keep top prospects like Brent Honeywell in the minors to begin the season, which will allow them to gain extra control and avoid Super Two status for arbitration purposes.
  • The most likely scenario for the Yankees and newly acquired Brandon Drury is that Drury opens the season as the team’s starting third baseman, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That’d allow the Yankees to go with either Ronald Torreyes or veteran Danny Espinosa at second base and avoid rushing prospects Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres early in the season. Interestingly, despite the fact that Torres missed half the 2017 season with Tommy John surgery (in his non-throwing arm), the Yankees view Torres as closer to the Majors, per Sherman. Andujar is nearly two years older than Torres and has twice the Triple-A experience, though neither has even appeared in 60 games at the top minor league level yet.

AL East Notes: Sandoval, Torres, Frieri, Pearce, Britton

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It’s likely too soon to expect the Red Sox to make any significant moves — indeed, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said yesterday that the market hasn’t really developed yet, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. But that doesn’t mean the club is not readying for the deadline. As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes, third base is an obvious area to target — even with Pablo Sandoval returning from the DL. Dombrowski acknowledged that the veteran’s “so-so” play early on has left the organization feeling unsettled at the hot corner. “We think he can do it,” said Dombrowski. “But now he’s got to go out and do it for us.” Of course, there are some other internal possibilities. Deven Marrero has impressed with the glove and hit two home runs last night, though his overall offensive work (in the both the majors and at Triple-A) remains uninspiring. And then there’s top prospect Rafael Devers, who’s playing at Double-A at twenty years of age.

While we watch to see how the third base situation shakes out in Boston, here are some more notes from the AL East:

  • It’ll be interesting to see whether and when the Yankees make their own decisions in the infield. As ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand writes, top prospect Gleyber Torres could represent an alternative to Chase Headley at third base. Torres, who draws big praise for his poise, just earned a promotion to the highest level of the minors after posting a strong .273/.367/.496 batting line (with 17 walks against 21 strikeouts) in 139 plate appearances at Double-A.
  • The Yankees will soon face a decision on veteran reliever Ernesto Frieri, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag notes on Twitter. Frieri, 31, can opt out from his minors deal tomorrow. He has been effective through twenty Triple-A frames, allowing five earned runs on just 11 hits while compiling 23 strikeouts against eight walks. Frieri was last a reliable MLB contributor in 2013.
  • Blue Jays outfielder Steve Pearce is still “at least” a few more weeks away, manager John Gibbons tells MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (Twitter link). The 34-year-old went to the DL recently with a calf strain. He had been off to a rough start to the season, slashing just .205/.256/.373 with 24 strikeouts and just five walks through 90 plate appearances. Fortunately for Toronto, Ezequiel Carrera has hit well in Pearce’s stead.
  • It seems that Orioles closer Zach Britton is proceeding as hoped as he works back from a forearm strain. Per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, via Twitter, Britton is now ramping up his throwing on flat ground. It doesn’t appear that he has taken to the mound as of yet, though there also haven’t been any setbacks so far. While the club isn’t yet ready to put a specific timeline on the lefty, the original schedule still seems reasonable.

Red Sox Option Joe Kelly, Designate Erik Kratz

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The Red Sox have designated catcher Erik Kratz for assignment and optioned struggling right-hander Joe Kelly to Triple-A Pawtucket, the team announced. (CSN New England’s Sean McAdam tweeted the Kratz DFA prior to the announcement.) Additionally, Dustin Pedroia has landed on the 15-day DL due to a hamstring injury. In a series of corresponding moves, Boston has recalled Jackie Bradley Jr. from Pawtucket and selected the contracts of shortstop Deven Marrero and right-hander Jonathan Aro.

The biggest item of note in this story, for Red Sox fans, will be the departure of Kelly from the rotation, at least for the time being. One of two players acquired from the Cardinals in what now looks to be a lopsided John Lackey trade (the other was Allen Craig), Kelly has made 24 starts in a Red Sox uniform, with the cumulative result being a 4.96 ERA to go along with 6.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. His 4.20 ERA in 2014 was significantly better than his 5.67 mark this season, but his FIP and xFIP marks over the two seasons are pretty similar, each pegging his true talent in the 4.10 to 4.40 range.

Kelly’s struggles this year have come largely as a result of an inability to strand hitters, but some pundits have suggested that he may simply be better off being converted to a relief pitcher in the long run. Whether that outcome proves to be the case remains to be seen, but one can imagine Kelly’s fastball (currently averaging 95.7 mph) playing up even better in the bullpen. For the time being, at least, Kelly will work in the Pawtucket rotation, tweets the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato.

Kelly has already accumulated enough service time in 2015 to reach three years of Major League service and thus qualify for arbitration following the season. As such, there’s no risk of this option — even if he’s left in the minors for a significant amount of time — delaying his path to free agency. The struggles and demotion will, however, undoubtedly impact his earning potential in his first trip through the arbitration process.

As for the 35-year-old Kratz, he was claimed off waivers from the Royals on Sunday due to some concern over an injury to Blake Swihart. However, Swihart is healthy and back in the lineup, so Kratz’s time in a Boston uniform will end without so much as a single in-game appearance over the few days that he was on the roster. A career .217/.270/.400 hitter, Kratz has proven himself capable of hitting for power but at the cost of questionable batting average and OBP marks. Defensively, Kratz’s 31 percent caught-stealing rate is above average, and he’s received plus ratings in terms of pitch framing.

Cole Hamels Rumors: Thursday

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Here’s the latest trade buzz about Phillies lefty Cole Hamels…

  • “The Cubs have continued to touch base with the Phillies” about Hamels, sources tell Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The likes of Kris Bryant or Addison Russell are “unquestionably off the table,” yet Chicago has enough prospect depth to get the Phillies’ attention.  Whether it’s Hamels or another notable arm, Wittenmyer expects the Cubs to target starting pitching at the trade deadline.
  • The Red Sox have long been connected to Hamels in trade talks, and while those rumors have primarily swirled around Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe notes that the Phillies also “like” Sox youngsters Jackie Bradley, Deven Marrero, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brian Johnson and possibly others.  The Phillies have been insisting on Swihart or Betts in any Hamels deal and the Sox have been firm that neither player is being traded.  Also from Cafardo’s mailbag piece, he feels Boston should add an ace but thinks the team will give Rodriguez or Johnson a shot in the rotation before they make a major trade to upgrade their pitching.
  • Of course, there is no evidence that the Phillies will trade Hamels (or Jonathan Papelbon) any time soon, if at all.  GM Ruben Amaro said as much to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, noting that “I have no mandate to trade players. These are not financial deals. These are baseball deals. That’s the beauty of the flexibility our ownership group is giving us. This is really about doing baseball deals. We don’t have to move money.”
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