Mets Select DJ Stewart, Designate Denyi Reyes For Assignment
The Mets made several roster moves today, as relayed by Tim Healey of Newsday. The club has activated right-hander Trevor Gott, whom they acquired from the Mariners in a trade yesterday, and selected the contract of outfielder DJ Stewart. To clear active roster space, they optioned right-hander Jeff Brigham and infielder Danny Mendick. To create a 40-man spot for Stewart, righty Denyi Reyes was designated for assignment.
Stewart, 29, spent the previous five seasons with the Orioles, mostly as a part-time player. He got into 195 games, hitting 26 home runs and walking in 13.2% of his plate appearances, though also striking out at a 26.8% rate. His overall .213/.327/.400 batting line in that time amounted to a wRC+ of 99, indicating he was just a hair below average. But since he was considered a poor defender in the outfield corners, that offense wasn’t enough to hold his roster spot.
He was outrighted by the O’s last year and later reached free agency, signing a minor league deal with the Mets. He’s been faring well in Triple-A Syracuse here in 2023, hitting 16 home runs so far and producing a .229/.362/.516 line for a 115 wRC+. The Mets will see if he can carry any of that production up with him to the big leagues. He still has an option and can be sent back down to the minors without being exposed to waivers.
In order to get Stewart onto the roster, the Mets have nudged Reyes off of it. He made his major league debut with the Orioles last year, tossing 7 2/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA in that small sample. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, posting a 7.17 ERA in 54 innings at that level. Like Stewart, he was outrighted off the Baltimore roster last year and signed a minor league deal with the Mets as a free agent.
Here in 2023, he was added to the club’s roster in the first week of the season but was later optioned with the club hoping to stretch him out for extra rotation depth. That plan hasn’t really worked out as Reyes has a 6.97 ERA in Triple-A this year, tossing 41 1/3 innings. The Mets will now have one week to trade Reyes or pass him through waivers. Despite his struggles this year, he still has an option remaining and is only 26 years old.
Marlins Acquire Jake Mangum From Mets
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.
Mets To Acquire Elieser Hernandez, Jeff Brigham From Marlins
12:59pm: The clubs have each announced the deal. In addition to Sanchez, the Marlins will receive a player to be named later or cash.
10:39am: The Mets are set to acquire right-handers Elieser Hernandez and Jeff Brigham from the Marlins, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Minor league righty Franklin Sanchez is headed back to Miami in return. Both Hernandez and Brigham were designated for assignment by the Marlins earlier this week.
The acquisitions of Hernandez and Brigham will give the Mets some needed depth in both the rotation and the bullpen, where they’re currently faced with the prospect of losing significant chunks of their staff. Starters Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker are all free agents, and while the Mets already re-signed Edwin Diaz, they’ve also seen Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, Mychal Givens, Trevor May and Trevor Williams reach the open market.
Both Hernandez and Brigham have a minor league option year remaining — two, in Brigham’s case — and therefore shouldn’t be seen as locks to occupy a spot on next year’s Opening Day staff for the Mets. That said, Hernandez has four-plus year of MLB experience and Brigham has three, so they’re a bit more seasoned than the garden-variety DFA pickup.
Hernandez, in particular, has at times looked like a potentially solid big league starter. From 2020-21, he made 17 starts for the Fish and pitched to a 3.84 ERA with strong strikeout and walk rates alike — 26.4% and 5.7%, respectively. That came in a sample of just 77 1/3 innings, thanks largely to a series of injuries. A lat strain in 2020, follow by biceps inflammation and a quad strain in 2021, combined to limit Hernandez’s time on the mound. Still, for a righty who’d been pitching in his age-25 and age-26 seasons, it was an encouraging sample from which to draw.
The 2022 campaign, however, was another story. Hernandez opened the season in Miami’s rotation but lost his spot and wound up splitting his workload evenly between 10 starts and 10 bullpen outings. The end result was a dismal 6.35 ERA, fueled in part by his strikeout rate (21.6%) and walk rate (7.9%) trending in the wrong directions. Home runs have long been an issue for Hernandez but never more so than this past season, when he yielded a staggering 2.74 homers per nine innings pitched. Put another way, a stunning 6.8% of the hitters who came the plate against Hernandez connected on a home run.
Those red flags notwithstanding, Hernandez is a 27-year-old righty who’s only one year removed from quality rotation work spread across two seasons. Since he can be optioned to Triple-A, he’s likely viewed as a sixth or seventh option in the rotation, should injuries necessitate such a move. An excellent Spring Training could put him in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day staff, of course, but even if he’s ticketed for Syracuse to begin the ’23 season, he’s a better rotation fallback than many clubs have in the upper minors. Hernandez is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.8MM in 2023. That’s more than some clubs might prefer to pay for a depth option, but the deep-pocketed Mets are likely more comfortable with that possibility (and could always look to sign Hernandez to a split contract with separate rates of pay in the Majors and Triple-A).
Turning to the 30-year-old Brigham, he’s coming off a more successful 2022 campaign. In 24 innings with the Marlins, he worked to a 3.38 ERA with a strong 27.7% strikeout rate against a 9.9% walk rate.
Brigham missed the entire 2021 campaign and much of this past season while dealing with a nerve injury in his right biceps, so durability is something of a concern, but dating back to 2019 he’s pitched about a full season’s worth of innings (63 1/3) with a 4.12 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. This past season’s 94.7 mph average heater was down from its 96.6 mph peak in 2019, but the results were still sound. As with recent waiver claim Stephen Ridings, Brigham is likely viewed as an optionable depth piece who can perhaps vie for one of the final spots in what should be a new-look Mets bullpen this winter. He’s projected for a modest $800K salary in 2023.
As for the Marlins’ return, they’ll acquire the 22-year-old Sanchez, who posted a combined 3.79 ERA in 35 2/3 innings across two Class-A levels in 2022. Sanchez fanned 27.1% of his opponents, a strong mark, but also walked an untenable 13.5% of hitters he faced. The Marlins sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he was tagged for nine runs in 7 1/3 innings and walked more hitters (six) than he struck out (five).
Sanchez didn’t rank among the Mets’ top prospects at any Baseball America, FanGraphs or MLB.com, though that’s not really a surprise for a pitcher who’s being swapped out for a pair of recent DFAs. He’ll give the Marlins a young arm with bat-missing capabilities but also some glaring command issues — the type of project arm often included as a lottery ticket in minor swaps of this nature.
Marlins Designate Elieser Hernandez, Four Others For Assignment
The Marlins have announced a number of designations on Rule 5 protection day. Right-handers Elieser Hernandez, Nick Neidert, Jeff Brigham, José Devers and Lewin Diaz for assignment (h/t to Joe Frisaro). In corresponding moves, Miami added George Soriano, Josh Simpson and Eli Villalobos onto the roster.
Brigham threw 24 innings of 3.38 ERA ball out of the Marlins’ bullpen this year, posting solid strikeout (27.7%) and walk (9.9%) rates. Those are decent enough results that should leave Brigham with options for 2023, but the 30-year-old was arbitration eligible and a likely non-tender candidate, so the Marlins opted to cut him loose in favor of a freed up 40-man spot. Neidert and Hernandez are the others pitchers Miami cut loose. Neidert only appeared in one game for the Marlins this year, but had a 1.96 ERA at Triple-A in 46 innings. Hernandez struggled mightily in the big leagues, winding up with a 6.35 ERA across 62 1/3 innings.
Miami also parted ways with hitters Devers and Diaz. Devers appeared in 21 games as a middle infielder, slashing .244/.304/.317 without a home run. Diaz has struggled in parts of three seasons in the big leagues for Miami. The first baseman hit just .169/.224/.288 with five home runs in 174 plate appearances this year. He did grade out well defensively, but his lifetime .181/.227/.340 line was never going to be enough from a bat-first position.
The Marlins used the open spots to add a trio of intriguing arms to their 40-man roster. Villalobos blew away Triple-A hitters in 17 1/3 innings this year, striking out 26 and posting a 1.04 ERA. Simpson did the same, striking out 23 batters in 12 1/3 innings after being called up from Double-A. Soriano didn’t post any big strikeout numbers, but the 2.49 ERA he wound up with over 47 Triple-A innings was certainly enough promise to earn him a spot on the 40-man. All three are now a chance to feature in the Marlins’ bullpen in 2023.
Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups
Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.
American League West
Houston Astros:
- Selected contract of RHP Hunter Brown
- Selected contract of C Yainer Diaz
- Corresponding moves: IF Niko Goodrum and RHP Peter Solomon designated for assignment
Los Angeles Angels:
- Selected contract of OF Ryan Aguilar
- Selected contract of RHP Zack Weiss
- Corresponding moves: OF Steven Duggar and INF Jose Rojas designated for assignment
Oakland Athletics
- Selected contract of LHP Ken Waldichuk from Triple-A Las vegas
- Recalled OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas
- Corresponding move: RHP David McKay designated for assignment
Seattle Mariners
- Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
- Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
- Corresponding moves: None required
Texas Rangers
- Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
- Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
- Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list
American League Central
Chicago White Sox
- Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
- Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
- Corresponding move: None required
Cleveland Guardians
- Recalled SS Ernie Clement from Triple-A Columbus
- Reinstated RHP Cody Morris from 60-day injured list
- Corresponding move: Designated RHP Anthony Castro for assignment
Detroit Tigers
- Recalled 1B Spencer Torkelson from Triple-A Toledo
- Selected contract of INF Ryan Kreidler from Triple-A Toledo
- Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Rony Garcia to 60-day injured list
Kansas City Royals
- Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
- Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
- Corresponding move: None required
Minnesota Twins
- Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
- Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
- Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
- Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
- Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
- Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment
Boston Red Sox
- Recalled C Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester
- Selected contract of RHP Eduard Bazardo
- Corresponding moves: None required
New York Yankees
- Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
- Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
- Corresponding moves: None required
Tampa Bay Rays
- Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
- Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
- Corresponding moves: None required
Toronto Blue Jays
- Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
- Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
- Corresponding moves: None required
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Selected contract of IF Wilmer Difo from Triple-A Reno
- Reinstated RHP Keynan Middleton and LHP Kyle Nelson from 15-day injured list
- Corresponding move: Designated RHP Noe Ramirez for assignment
Colorado Rockies
- Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
- Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
- Corresponding moves: None required
Los Angeles Dodgers
- Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
- Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
- Corresponding moves: None required
San Diego Padres
- Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
- Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
- Corresponding moves: None required
San Francisco Giants
- Selected contract of recently-acquired OF Lewis Brinson
- Recalled IF David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento
- Corresponding move: Outrighted LHP Jonathan Bermudez to Triple-A Sacramento
National League Central
Chicago Cubs
- Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
- Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
- Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list
Cincinnati Reds
- Selected contract of 2B/3B Spencer Steer
- Selected contract of RHP Fernando Cruz
- Corresponding moves: Transferred INF Mike Moustakas and RHP Jeff Hoffman from 10-day injured list to 60-day injured list
Milwaukee Brewers
- Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
- Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
- Corresponding moves: None required
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
- Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
- Corresponding moves: None required
St. Louis Cardinals
- Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
- Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
- Corresponding moves: None required
National League East
Atlanta Braves
- Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
- Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
- Corresponding moves: None required
Miami Marlins*
- To recall OF Bryan De La Cruz
- To recall RHP Jeff Brigham
- Corresponding moves: None required
New York Mets
- Selected contract of INF Deven Marrero from Triple-A Syracuse
- Recalled RHP Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse
- Corresponding move: Designated RHP Connor Grey for assignment
Philadelphia Phillies
- Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
- Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
- Corresponding moves: None required
Washington Nationals
- Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
- Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
- Corresponding moves: None required
*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)
Marlins Roster Moves
The Marlins made a number of roster moves today, including moving All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the 60-day injured list. Anthony Bender and Cody Poteet were also moved to the 60-day injured list. Those moves cleared 40-man roster spots for Willians Astudillo, Jeff Brigham, and Huascar Brazoban, who were all added to the active roster. To create those spots on the active roster, Brian Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain, while Max Meyer and Tommy Nance were both placed on the 15-day injured list, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
The Chisolm move is the most noteworthy (if expected) move of the bunch. The All-Star was recently diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back. The Marlins hope he can return by the end of the season, though that’s definitely in doubt.
It’s equally disappointing to see Meyer make a quick trip to the injured list after just two big league starts. The 23-year-old surrendered five earned runs in seven innings while striking out six and walking two.
Nance, a 31-year-old reliever, joins Meyer on the injured list. The former Cub has a 5.76 ERA/3.28 FIP in 19 outings covering 25 innings this season for the Marlins. The power righty misses a fair amount of bats, but struggled at times with his command. For the year, he has struck out a robust 29.9 percent of opponents, but he has also walked 11.1 percent of opposing hitters, a number that needs to come down in order for him to become an effective late-inning arm.
Brazoban made his Major League debut today, throwing an arsenal based around a sinker that neared 98 mph on average. The 32-year-old Dominican was playing in the independent league last season. Brigham, 30, has made 37 appearances for the Marlins over the past three seasons, posting a 5.01 ERA/5.32 FIP across 55 2/3 innings. Astudillo has stepped to the plate 38 times for the Marlins this season, slashing .270/.289/.351.
Marlins Outright Jorge Guzman, Jeff Brigham
The Marlins have reinstated right-handers Jorge Guzman and Jeff Brigham from the 60-day injured list and outrighted both pitchers to Triple-A Jacksonville. Since the 60-day IL placements meant that Guzman and Brigham already weren’t on the 40-man roster, Miami’s 40-man remains at 36 players.
Guzman missed much of the season due to two separate visits to the 60-day IL due to elbow problems, and he appeared in only two games. The 25-year-old’s MLB career thus far consists only of three games and 2 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with a garish 27.00 ERA over that very small sample size.
It wasn’t long ago that the hard-throwing Guzman was regarded as one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, which is particularly notable given the number of quality arms in the organization. However, many of those other pitchers are simply now a higher priority considering Guzman has barely pitched in two full seasons. Beyond his cups of coffee in the majors, Guzman also tossed only 15 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2021.
Brigham has seen even less action over the last two seasons. The righty spent all of 2021 on the 60-day injured list due to an unspecified injury, and threw only one inning with the Marlins in 2020, as he was one of many players caught up in the team’s COVID-19 outbreak that summer.
Brigham saw more action with the Marlins in 2018-19, posting a 5.01 ERA over 54 2/3 innings of work. Originally a fourth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2014 draft, Brigham has been with Miami since 2015, coming to the Fish as part of the whopping 13-player, three-team swap between the Marlins, Braves, and Dodgers at the 2015 trade deadline.
Marlins Designate Harold Ramirez For Assignment
The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve designated outfielder Harold Ramirez for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander John Curtiss, whose previously reported acquisition from the Rays is now official. Miami also formally announced its one-year deal with outfielder Adam Duvall today, placing righty Jeff Brigham to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.
Ramirez, 26, made his Major League debut with the Marlins in May 2019 and came out of the gates on fire, batting .368/.419/.474 in his first month of action. His bat cooled after the fact, but that early hot streak was enough to leave him with a respectable .276/.312/.416 batting line through 446 plate appearances as a rookie.
The 2020 season was another story entirely, however, as Ramirez was among the many Marlins players to test positive for Covid-19 early in the year when the team was hit with an outbreak of the virus. He returned in early September but sustained an immediate hamstring injury that resulted in him being carted off the field. Ramirez didn’t make it back to the active roster following that injury and finished out his 2020 season with just three games and 11 plate appearances.
That was obviously a disappointing outcome for a player who likely hoped to have cemented himself on the big league roster with a decent rookie showing, and today’s DFA is a further downturn in trajectory. The Marlins will have a week to trade Ramirez or pass him through outright waivers. SportsGrid’s Craig Mish tweets that Miami has been attempting to move him “to no avail,” though with the DFA clock now ticking, it’s possible those talks could be accelerated.
Ramirez does have a minor league option remaining, and in addition to a respectable output at the plate in 2019, he carries a career .303/.358/.421 slash in parts of eight minor league seasons. He’s still appeared in only 31 games at the Triple-A level, but Ramirez has been productive both there and in Double-A. He’s best deployed in an outfield corner, but the Fish gave him 192 innings of center field work in 2019, so he can at least handle the position. Teams in search of a right-handed, corner outfield bat could certainly have interest in swinging a minor deal for Ramirez, who can be controlled through at least the 2025 season.
Marlins Place 13 Players On Injured List
The Marlins announced today that they’ve placed 13 players on the injured list. Those going on the IL include right-handers Sandy Alcantara, Jeff Brigham, Robert Dugger, Yimi Garcia, Jordan Holloway, Nick Neidert and Ryne Stanek; left-handers Adam Conley, Caleb Smith and Alex Vesia; infielders Sean Rodriguez and Miguel Rojas; and catcher Chad Wallach.
Miami also made official a previously reported slate of roster moves. Lefty Richard Bleier was acquired from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Right-hander James Hoyt was acquired from the Indians for cash. The club also claimed relievers Justin Shafer and Josh D. Smith from the Reds, claimed reliever Mike Morin from the Brewers and claimed reliever (and former Marlin) Brian Moran from the Blue Jays. Veteran infielder Logan Forsythe signed a one-year, Major League deal.
As for internal moves, the Fish called up right-hander Jorge Guzman, outfielder Monte Harrison and righty Jordan Yamamoto. The club also selected the contracts of left-hander Dan Castano, right-hander Josh A. Smith, right-hander Nick Vincent, catcher Ryan Lavarnway and infielder Eddy Alvarez. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson were activated from the injured list.
It’s a dizzying sequence of moves brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak that decimated the organization’s Major League roster. Miami ultimately wound up with a reported 18 players and two coaches testing positive, and the outbreak caused scheduling delays with the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and Nationals in addition to the Marlins. Miami was left with a depleted roster and forced to scramble to simply cobble together a roster and continue its season.
The losses of Alcantara and Smith will remove two of Miami’s top rotation options from the mix for the time being, while Rojas was the team’s starting shortstop. Stanek had been expected to occupy a high-leverage late-inning role, and Conley is one of the team’s most experienced bullpen pieces.
Marlins’ Michael Hill On Alfaro, Stanek, NRIs
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill spoke with reporters on a conference call today, providing updates on multiple injured players and addressing the status of the wave of veterans who’d been in camp on non-roster deals this spring (all Twitter links via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and SportsGrid’s Craig Mish).
Catcher Jorge Alfaro, who had been questionable for Opening Day due to a strained left oblique, now seemingly has put that injury behind him. Had Alfaro required an IL stint to open the season, Miami would’ve begun the year trotting out Chad Wallach and offseason signee Francisco Cervelli as the top two catching options, as there are no other backstops on the 40-man roster. (Alternatively, the club could’ve selected non-roster invitee Ryan Lavarnway.) If play does resume in 2020 now, they’ll instead take a continued look at the 26-year-old Alfaro, who came over from the Phillies in the J.T. Realmuto swap and slashed .262/.312/.425 with a career-high 18 home runs in 465 plate appearances for the Fish.
Updates on a pair of relievers were a bit less concrete. Flamethrowing righty Ryne Stanek, whom the Marlins acquired in the deal that sent unexpected breakout reliever Nick Anderson to the Rays last July, has been receiving some treatment for back discomfort and is now doing well. Fellow right-hander Jeff Brigham was slowed by a biceps injury in Spring Training and is still working his way back from that issue. A timetable for him wasn’t provided.
Stanek, 28, was impressive for the Rays in ’19 but saw his control completely disappear upon being traded to Miami. While he upped his strikeout rate with the Marlins, he also went from respectable walk rates with the Rays (3.2 BB/9, 8.8% overall) to astonishingly high levels with the Marlins (8.0 BB/9, 19.2%). At the time of the trade, Stanek seemed like a potential closing option for Miami — although so did Anderson — but his late struggles might’ve contributed to the Marlins’ offseason desire to add a veteran ninth-inning option (which they did in Brandon Kintzler).
Like most other clubs, the Marlins had a slew of big league veterans in camp on non-roster deals hoping to secure a spot on the club. The aforementioned Lavarnway, Matt Kemp, Sean Rodriguez, Brad Boxberger, Ryan Cook, Pat Venditte and Josh A. Smith were among the names hoping to secure a job. Everyone from that group is still with the organization, per Hill, despite any spring opt-out dates they might’ve had worked into their deals. However, until another iteration of training camp resume and teams know how many players they’ll be carrying on their rosters, Hill indicated that the club can’t make determinations or even indicate who is likely to be on the roster.
Mish and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro had both previously reported that Boxberger seemed very likely to break camp with the team. Kemp, Mish noted again today, appeared unlikely to make the club prior to the leaguewide shutdown — and Hill himself acknowledged that the former All-Star had gotten out to a poor start (4-for-28, no extra-base hits, 11 strikeouts in 30 plate appearances). With Corey Dickerson, Matt Joyce, Garrett Cooper, Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra, Harold Ramirez, Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez all on the roster as potential corner candidates — Jonathan Villar is expected to play center field — Miami isn’t exactly hurting for options.