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Mets To Pick Up Options On Carlos Carrasco, John Curtiss

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The Mets are going to pick up Carlos Carrasco’s option for 2023, per Tim Healey of Newsday. He’ll earn a $14MM salary instead of a $3MM buyout. They will also pick up their $775K option on reliever John Curtiss instead of the $70K buyout, per Mike Puma of The New York Post.

Carrasco, 36 in March, has been up-and-down over the past few years, with injuries usually contributing to the down parts. Acquired by the Mets prior to 2021, he only tossed 52 2/3 innings last year with a 6.04 ERA. 2020 was much better, as he was healthy enough to make 29 starts and toss 152 frames. In that time, he registered a 3.97 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. With the $14MM option price and $3MM buyout, it was a net $11MM decision for the club. There’s certainly risk in that kind of commitment given Carrasco’s injury history, but it’s also possible that he’s well worth that salary.

What also likely played a role in the Mets’ decision was their broad rotation picture. Jacob deGrom opted out of his contract while Taijuan Walker and Chris Bassitt declined options in favor of free agency. That’s left three big holes in the club’s starting staff for next year. Even if Carrasco’s age and injury history caused them to consider turning down his option at any point, they might have been dissuaded from doing so by the circumstances. Replacing three starters is challenging enough without creating another vacancy.

With Carrasco now retained, he will slot in behind Max Scherzer as two of the club’s starters next year. There are some in-house options for filling the remaining three slots, such as Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto. However, the Mets have been quite aggressive in upgrading their roster in recent years and will likely bring in reinforcements, either fresh faces or convincing their departing free agents to return.

As for Curtiss, 30 in April, he seemed to be having a breakout in recent years. In 2020, he tossed 25 innings for the Rays with a 1.80 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate. He got traded to the Marlins prior to 2021 and then to the Brewers a few months later. He posted a 3.45 ERA over 44 1/3 innings that year but then required Tommy John surgery in September.

After he was non-tendered by the Brewers, the Mets signed him to a one-year deal, knowing that he would miss the entire 2022 campaign, but with the option for 2023. The $775K salary is barely above the league minimum, which will be $720K next year. There’s little risk in the Mets picking it up and seeing if Curtiss can bounceback to his old form once healthy. They also face a huge amount of turnover in the bullpen, as Mychal Givens, Adam Ottavino, Trevor Williams, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo, Trevor May and Tommy Hunter are all now free agents. Edwin Díaz was set to join that group before he and the Mets agreed to a new contract. Given that the Mets will need to essentially rebuild their entire bullpen, it makes sense to retain any warm they can find.

With these two salaries now on the books, the Mets’ payroll for 2023 is up to $238MM, according to Roster Resource. Their CBT number is slightly ahead at $249MM, since that figure is calculated by looking at the annual average value of contracts over their entire length, not just the 2023 salaries. This year’s top luxury tax bracket will begin at $293MM, with owner Steve Cohen hinting to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post that he could be willing to spend in that range. If that’s the case, the club still has some funds available to continue upgrading the pitching staff and the positional player mix.

Previewing Upcoming Club Option Decisions: National League

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In the past two days, MLBTR has taken a look at how players with contractual options could impact the upcoming free agent class. We looked at players with vesting provisions on Tuesday before turning our attention to American League players under control via team options yesterday. Today, we’ll check in on their National League counterparts.

Braves

It has been strange year for Morton, who starred on last year’s World Series winner. He re-signed on a $20MM deal with a matching option for next season. Through 22 starts and 122 2/3 innings, the two-time All-Star has a slightly underwhelming 4.26 ERA. That’s largely attributable to a dreadful first couple months, however. He has an ERA of 3.55 or below in each of the past three months, carrying a cumulative 3.44 mark while holding opponents to a .198/.276/.369 line since June 1. Morton is still sitting in the mid-90’s with his fastball, striking batters out at a quality 27.3% clip and has ironed out his control after some uncharacteristic wildness through his first few starts. At first glance, a $20MM salary seems pricey for a pitcher entering his age-39 season with Morton’s overall numbers, but he’s not shown any signs of physical decline and has looked great lately. If he keeps at this pace for another two months, the Braves will probably welcome him back. That, of course, assumes Morton wants to continue playing. He’s hinted at retirement in years past and set fairly strict geographic limitations on his market during his latest trips to free agency.

Mets

The Mets acquired Vogelbach from the Pirates to add a left-handed platoon bat to what had been an underwhelming designated hitter mix. He’d hit .228/.338/.430 through 75 games in Pittsburgh and has raked at a .341/.473/.568 clip over his first couple weeks in Queens. For a negligible $1.5MM salary, keeping Vogelbach around feels like an easy call. He’s technically arbitration-eligible through 2024 regardless of whether the Mets exercise his option. The option price should be more affordable than whatever he’d receive through arbitration next offseason, so if the Mets surprisingly declined the option, they’d likely non-tender him entirely.

  • John Curtiss, RP ($775K option, arbitration-eligible through 2025)

There’s nothing new to report on Curtiss. He signed a big league deal just before Opening Day with the knowledge that he’d likely miss all of this season recovering from last August’s Tommy John surgery. He was immediately placed on the injured list. Next year’s option is valued at barely above the league minimum salary, so it’s just a matter of whether the Mets plan to devote him a roster spot all offseason. Curtiss is controllable through 2025 if the Mets keep him around.

Phillies

Segura has been the Phils’ primary second baseman for the past four seasons. He’s generally hit at a slightly above-average level, relying on excellent bat-to-ball skills to prop up an aggressive offensive approach. He’s paired that with above-average defensive ratings at the keystone. He’s lost most of this season after fracturing his finger on a bunt attempt, but he’s healthy now and performing at his typical level. Across 195 plate appearances, he owns a .284/.324/.421 line with seven home runs. Segura is a good player, but a $16MM call will probably be too much for a Philadelphia club that already has five players on the books for more than $20MM next season (and will add a sixth notable salary — more on that shortly). The market also hasn’t been particularly robust for second base-only players in recent years. Segura will be headed into his age-33 season.

This one’s a no-brainer for the Phillies to exercise. Nola is one of the sport’s top pitchers, a picture of durability and consistently above-average numbers (aside from a blip in his 2021 ERA that didn’t align with still excellent peripherals). One can argue whether Nola’s a true ace, but he’s at least a high-end #2 caliber arm. He’s given the Phils 144 2/3 innings of 3.17 ERA ball this season, striking out 27.9% of batters faced against a minuscule 3.6% walk rate. Even on a $16MM salary, he’s a bargain.

Reds

Wilson signed a complex free agent deal with the Yankees during the 2020-21 offseason. A one-year guarantee, the deal contained player and team options for 2022. Wilson and the Yankees agreed that if he triggered his $2.3MM player option for 2022, the team would get a 2023 option valued at $500K above that year’s league minimum salary. That provision carried over to the Reds when Wilson was dealt to Cincinnati at the 2021 trade deadline, and he indeed exercised the player option last winter. Next year’s league minimum is set at $720K, so Wilson’s option price will come in at $1.22MM.

It’s certainly affordable, but it still seems likely the Reds will let him go. The 34-year-old (35 next week) southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery in June, meaning he won’t return until late in the ’23 season at the earliest. He made just five appearances this season and posted a 5.29 ERA over 34 innings last year.

Brewers

Wong presents a tricky case for a Milwaukee club that typically runs slightly below-average player payrolls. He’s hitting .255/.336/.425, offense that checks in around 11 percentage points above league average according to wRC+. It’s among the better showings of his career. He doesn’t have huge power, but Wong’s an effective baserunner with plus bat-to-ball skills and good strike zone awareness. He’s a good but certainly not elite offensive player, one who’s performed about as well as Milwaukee could’ve reasonably hoped when signing him over the 2020-21 offseason.

What seems likely to determine whether the Brewers bring him back is how they evaluate his defense. A two-time Gold Glove award winner, Wong has rated as one of the sport’s best defensive second basemen for the majority of his career. Public metrics have unanimously panned his work this year, though, with Statcast’s Outs Above Average pegging him as the worst defensive second baseman in 2022. Wong’s speed has also taken a step back, and perhaps the Brewers think he’s just past his physical prime as he nears his 32nd birthday. If that’s the case, they probably buy him out, since Wong’s value has been so heavily concentrated in his glove. If they feel this year’s downturn is just a blip and expect he’ll return to his old ways on defense, then keeping him around makes sense. Like Segura, Wong could be affected by the market’s recent devaluation of second basemen. It’s also worth noting that Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Milwaukee was open to trade offers on Wong before this summer’s deadline. They didn’t move him, but it’s perhaps an indication the front office is leaning towards a buyout.

Boxberger has spent the past couple seasons on low-cost contracts in Milwaukee and generally performed well. He carries a 2.51 ERA through 43 innings this season, albeit with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates. Boxberger has a career-worst 8.4% swinging strike rate, and the front office could view his strong run prevention mark as little more than a mirage. The financial cost is modest enough they could nevertheless keep him around, particularly since manager Craig Counsell has trusted Boxberger enough to give him plenty of high-leverage opportunities (largely with good results).

Rockies

Oberg is technically controllable for another season via club option, but the Rockies will obviously decline it. He earned a three-year extension after the 2019 season on the heels of two consecutive sub-3.00 ERA campaigns, no small feat for a reliever calling Coors Field home. Unfortunately, Oberg has dealt with persistent blood clotting issues that prevented him throwing from a single major league pitch throughout the course of the contract. The 32-year-old hasn’t officially announced his retirement, but he admitted in May he’s no longer actively pursuing a return to the field. He’s taken on a role in the Colorado scouting department to stay involved with the organization.

Dodgers

  • Max Muncy, INF ($13MM option, $1.5MM buyout)

One of the game’s best hitters from 2018-21, Muncy has had a disappointing season thus far. Seemingly nagged by health issues tied to a ligament tear he suffered in his elbow late last season, he’s had a huge downturn in his offensive production. Muncy still boasts elite strike zone awareness, but his results on contact are way down. Overall, he carries a meager .180/.317/.360 line across 366 trips to the plate.

Still, given what Muncy’s shown himself capable of in the past, it seems unlikely the Dodgers let him go to save $11.5MM. This is an organization that annually runs one of the league’s highest payrolls, and they’ve shown a willingness to place one-year bets on players with upside but risk (e.g. tendering a $17MM arbitration contract to Cody Bellinger on the heels of a .165/.240/.302 season disrupted by injuries). They’ll probably do the same with Muncy and hoping he rediscovers his prior form with another offseason to rehab his elbow.

The Dodgers signed Duffy to a one-year guarantee this spring knowing he wasn’t likely to factor into the plans until midseason. He’d been shooting for a June return but has still yet to make his Dodgers debut, although he’s reportedly throwing at the team’s Arizona complex. It’s unlikely the Dodgers bring him back for $7MM given his recent health woes, but he could change those plans if he makes it back to the mound late in the season and looks like a potential impact arm, as he did at times with the Royals.

Hudson signed a one-year guarantee over the offseason and quickly emerged as a key high-leverage option for manager Dave Roberts. He dominated over 24 1/3 innings, pitching to a 2.22 ERA with an excellent 30.9% strikeout rate while averaging north of 97 MPH on his fastball. The veteran righty looked like one of the sport’s best relievers for two months, but he unfortunately blew out his knee trying to field a ground-ball. He tore his left ACL and is done for the year. The Dodgers could still roll the dice given how well he’d pitched before the injury, but that’s no longer a foregone conclusion. A $5.5MM decision isn’t onerous — particularly for L.A. — but there’s plenty of risk in Hudson’s profile given the injury and the fact that he’ll be headed into his age-36 season.

The Dodgers added the veteran Alberto on a fairly surprising big league deal. He’s been a below-average offensive player for three years running, with his solid contact skills not quite compensating for a lack of power and one of the game’s most aggressive approaches. He’s played a limited utility role, serving as a right-handed bench bat capable of splitting his time between second and third base. Next year’s option price is very affordable, but the Dodgers can probably find a hitter with a bit more punch to play the role Alberto has assumed.

Nelson underwent Tommy John surgery last August, but the Dodgers brought him back for the league minimum salary to get a cheap option on his services for next year. He’s been on the injured list for all of 2022, as expected. Whether the Dodgers keep him will depend on how he looks at the start of the offseason, but $1.1MM for a 33-year-old who posted a 1.86 ERA and punched out 37.9% of his opponents in 29 innings when last healthy is beyond reasonable.

Padres

The Padres have spent the past few years trying to get out from under the money they owe Myers. The extension to which they signed him in January 2017 never worked out, as he’d been a roughly average hitter aside from a monster showing in the shortened 2020 campaign up until this season. The 2022 season has been a disaster, as Myers owns a .233/.277/.295 showing through 159 plate appearances and has lost two months to a right knee injury. He’s healthy now but relegated to fourth outfield duty. Myers will probably find a big league opportunity somewhere this offseason, but it’ll come with a new team and with a substantial pay cut.

Giants

Longoria is nearing the end of an extension he first signed with the Rays a decade ago. His production dipped late in his stint with Tampa Bay, and Longoria slogged through a trio of mediocre seasons through his first four years in San Francisco. He’s had an offensive resurgence over the past two years, carrying a .254/.340/.468 line in 470 plate appearances going back to the start of 2021. Longoria’s still a good hitter and capable defender at the hot corner, but he’s dealt with plenty of injury concerns as he’s gotten into his late 30s. He’s gone on the injured list five times in the last two seasons, including long-term absences for a shoulder sprain and hand surgery. The hefty buyout means it’d only be an extra $8MM for San Francisco to keep him around, but it seems likely they’ll look to get younger at the hot corner. It’s possible the three-time All-Star takes the decision out of their hands entirely, as he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle in June that he’s not ruling out retiring after this season.

Mets Sign John Curtiss To Major League Contract, Select Travis Jankowski

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The Mets are signing reliever John Curtiss to a major league deal, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Tim Healey of Newsday). The team is also selecting outfielder Travis Jankowski to the major league roster for Opening Day. Curtiss will make $770K this season, and next year’s option is valued at $775K, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).

Curtiss isn’t expected to pitch for the entire 2022 campaign. The 29-year-old righty suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament while pitching for the Brewers last August, an injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Milwaukee had just acquired Curtiss from the Marlins at that summer’s trade deadline. He’d had an excellent first half in Miami, pitching to a 2.48 ERA in 40 innings with a solid 24.8% strikeout percentage and tiny 5.6% walk rate.

Milwaukee no doubt envisioned Curtiss serving as an important bullpen piece both down the stretch and over the next few seasons, but he only managed six relief appearances as a Brewer. They non-tendered him in November, electing against carrying an injured pitcher on the 40-man roster all winter. Curtiss only has a bit more than two years of MLB service, so he’ll be controllable via arbitration even beyond the 2023 option year. The Mets will take a low-risk dice roll to see if Curtiss can be a member of the big league bullpen next year and beyond. While rehabbing, he’ll pick up a big league salary and MLB service time on the injured list.

Curtiss will spend the entire season on the 60-day injured list, but the Mets first have to clear a 40-man roster spot to sign him to a big league deal. To do so, they’ve designated utilityman Travis Blankenhorn for assignment. New York claimed the left-handed hitter off waivers from the Mariners in June. That concluded a series of waiver claims for the former third-round pick, who bounced from the Twins to the Dodgers to Seattle and then Queens in a span of a few weeks.

Blankenhorn has only tallied 28 plate appearances at the big league level. He owns a solid .253/.361/.460 slash in a pair of Triple-A campaigns, though, and can still be optioned to the minor leagues for another season. That could lead another club to acquire Blankenhorn via minor trade or waivers in the next week.

Once Curtiss’ deal is made official, the Mets will place him on the 60-day IL and free a 40-man roster spot. That’ll go to Jankowski, who cracked the Opening Day roster after signing a minor league contract this offseason. He adds a fleet-footed player with experience at all three outfield spots to the New York bench. He has played 400+ innings everywhere on the grass as a big leaguer, with the bulk of that experience coming in center field.

The 30-year-old will serve as a speed/defense specialist behind the starting outfield of Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Mark Canha. The lefty-swinging Jankowski has never been much of a threat at the plate, as he owns a .239/.322/.318 line in a bit more than 1,100 big league plate appearances.

Brewers Non-Tender Daniel Vogelbach

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The Brewers announced this evening that they have non-tendered both first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and right-handed pitcher John Curtiss. The power-swinging Vogelbach was projected to receive a $2MM salary through arbitration (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), which the team likely viewed as redundant with a fellow lefty bat on hand in Rowdy Tellez.

Claimed off waivers from Toronto during the 2020 season, Vogelbach’s bat erupted for a 161 OPS+ during a 19-game stint with the Brewers last season. His .219/.349/.381 slash line this year, however, registered slightly below the league average (97 OPS+). The 28-year-old continued to hit the ball with authority this year and even cut his strikeout rate to a personal best 22.1%, but his defensive limitations and middling offensive performance were enough for the budget-conscious Brewers to move on. The lefty slugger can be controlled through 2025 via arbitration if he latches on with another Major League team this winter.

The right-handed Curtiss came over to Milwaukee in a last-minute deal with the Marlins this past July. The deal proved ill-fated for both the Brewers and Curtiss after just six appearances out of the bullpen, as the reliever yielded six runs and headed to the injured list with a torn UCL. The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in September and is unlikely to see action on a Major League roster until 2023, at the earliest. Dating back to 2020 Curtiss carries a 2.86 ERA across 69 innings and will remain a high-upside reliever play for teams if his recovery goes as planned. The Brewers now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

John Curtiss Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Brewers reliever John Curtiss recently underwent Tommy John surgery, general manager David Stearns told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The right-hander is not expected to return until 2023.

That’s not especially surprising news, as Curtiss tore the UCL in his throwing elbow during an appearance last month. While Curtiss was hoping to avoid a surgical procedure, further evaluation evidently deemed it necessary. It’s an unfortunate way to end what had been a productive season, as the 28-year-old pitched to a 3.45 ERA over 44 1/3 innings split between the Marlins and Brew Crew. While Curtiss’s 23.5% strikeout rate is essentially league average, he did well to avoid walks and home runs. That solid showing prompted Milwaukee to trade catching prospect Payton Henry to land Curtiss at the trade deadline, but he blew out after just six appearances with his new team.

Curtiss is already on the 60-day injured list, where he’ll remain for the rest of the season. The Brewers can keep Curtiss on the 60-day IL all of next season, as well, but they’ll need to reinstate him to the 40-man roster over the winter. Curtiss remains under team control through 2025 and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason.

Stearns added that fellow reliever Justin Topa is going for a second opinion on his own elbow injury. Topa, who has already undergone Tommy John surgery twice in his career, was placed on the 60-day injured list over the weekend due to elbow discomfort. (Jandel Gustave returned from the COVID-19 in a corresponding move). That ended Topa’s season, although it remains to be seen whether he’ll have a chance of being ready for Spring Training in 2022.

Brewers Reinstate Eric Lauer, Transfer John Curtiss To 60-Day IL

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The Brewers have reinstated Eric Lauer from the IL, per a team announcement. The lefty was one of many Brewers to test positive for COVID-19 recently and was placed on the IL August 4th. Justin Topa was optioned to make room for him on the active roster, with John Curtiss going on the 60-day IL to create room on the 40-man roster.

Lauer has been a solid member of the Brewers’ staff this season, appearing in 15 games, starting 11 of them. In 69 1/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.50, with a strikeout rate of 22.9% and walk rate of 8.9%, both of those rates being around league average.

As for Curtiss, he was recently traded from the Marlins to the Brewers. But just two weeks later, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL and may need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Although the 28-year-old is getting a second opinion before going under the knife, this IL placement guarantees that he will miss the remainder of this season. Before going on the IL, he had thrown 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between the two clubs.

Brewers’ John Curtiss Suffers UCL Tear

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Aug. 12: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Curtiss is getting a second opinion, but Tommy John surgery indeed seems to be on the table.

Aug. 11: The Brewers announced that right-hander John Curtiss has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. The reliever left his appearance against the Cubs last night with elbow soreness, and he’s unfortunately suffered a significant injury. The team didn’t specify the severity of the injury, nor did they make any mention of Tommy John surgery. It’s possible that Curtiss is still exploring alternative means of treatment, but it seems he’s in for an extended absence no matter which course of action he chooses.

Curtiss has made just six appearances with Milwaukee after being acquired from the Marlins in a deadline-day swap. He was blown up for five runs in his team debut, but Curtiss had better results in his five other contests and has had a strong season overall. The 28-year-old tossed 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between Miami and Milwaukee, following up on a quality campaign with the Rays in 2020. Going back the past two seasons, he has a 2.86 ERA across 69 1/3 frames. His 24.1% strikeout rate is league average, but he’s been excellent at avoiding free passes (5.2% walk rate) after struggling with wildness throughout much of his minor league career.

Milwaukee hasn’t specified a timeline for Curtiss’ recovery, but it would be very surprising if he didn’t miss the rest of this season. Should he ultimately require a Tommy John procedure, he’d very likely be sidelined for the entire 2022 campaign as well. Curtiss won’t reach arbitration eligibility until 2023, so there’d be little financial cost for Milwaukee in holding onto him even if he requires a lengthy rehab process. Curtiss would have to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster throughout the winter if the Brew Crew want to ensure they retain his rights long-term, though.

For the time being, Curtiss has been placed on the 10-day injured list, as has lefty Angel Perdomo (lower back strain). The Brewers activated righty Justin Topa from the 60-day IL and recalled southpaw Hoby Milner from Triple-A Nashville, with Topa’s reinstatement filling the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched all season on account of a flexor tendon strain.

Brewers Acquire John Curtiss

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The Brewers and Marlins have agreed to a swap sending right-handed reliever John Curtiss from Miami to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Payton Henry, the teams announced just prior to Friday’s trade deadline.

John Curtiss | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Curtiss, 28, was at one point a fairly well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Twins system but never panned out in Minnesota, Anaheim or Philadelphia after bouncing around in a series of transactions. Like so many others, however, he found a home with the Rays in 2020, pitching to a brilliant 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of relief and posting a 25.3 percent strikeout rate against a masterful 3.0 percent walk rate. The Rays nevertheless flipped Curtiss to the Marlins in a late offseason trade for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards — perhaps not sold on Curtiss being able to sustain his otherworldly command.

While Curtiss’ command has indeed backed up a bit — sustaining a three percent walk rate is a near impossibility for any pitcher — it’s still sitting at a brilliant 5.6 percent so far in what has been a terrific 2021 season. Curtiss pitched 40 innings for the Marlins and notched a tidy 2.48 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate.

Beyond his excellent production, Curtiss was no doubt appealing to the Rays due to the fact that he’s not yet arbitration-eligible and is controlled through the 2025 season. Curtiss won’t even reach arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, so there’s potential for him to step up as a long-term bullpen piece for the Brew Crew.

The Brewers will gain those four and a half years of control at the expense of the 24-year-old Henry, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Henry ranked among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America each season from 2018-20 but fell off this year. He’s still 25th among their farmhands over at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen notes that he was a bat-first catcher in the draft who has made enough defensive gains to stick behind the plate. Henry’s raw power is his best tool.

So far in 2021, however, that pop hasn’t really been on display. He’s batted a combined .297/.372/.390 with just two homers between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, Henry has curbed his once-problematic strikeout rates by a wide margin this year; he fanned in 32 percent of his trips to the plate in Class-A as recently as 2018, but he’s down to an even 25 percent between Double-A and Triple-A this year (with fewer punchouts in Triple-A).

The Marlins are known to have been looking for potential long-term options behind the dish, and while Henry is a long shot to step up as their everyday option back there, he gives the Fish an upper-minors option who is producing at the dish and may not be too far from getting a shot in the big leagues.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter link).

Marlins Place Pablo Lopez On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have placed right-hander Pablo Lopez on the 10-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.  The placement is retroactive to July 14.  Right-hander John Curtiss has been reinstated from the 10-day IL to take Lopez’s spot on the active roster, while righty Jordan Holloway was optioned back to Triple-A after serving as the 27th man for yesterday’s doubleheader with the Phillies.

Lopez heads to the IL in the aftermath of a history-making achievement, as his last start on July 11 saw Lopez become the first MLB pitcher to ever strike out his first nine batters faced in a game.  That entry into the record books has been the highlight of an overall strong season for the righty, who has a 3.03 ERA/3.48 SIERA over 101 innings for Miami and above-average strikeout (27.1%) and walk (6.1%) rates, to go along with a 47.3% grounder rate.

Lopez’s 2020 numbers were also good, and the 25-year-old is now looking like a nice building block within a Marlins pitching mix that has plenty of intriguing arms.  As Man On Second’s Joe Frisaro notes, however, several of these pitchers are already nearing career highs in innings pitched, so particularly in the wake of the shortened 2020 season, it remains to be seen how the Marlins will manage their rotation innings the rest of the way.

In Lopez’s case, his previous career high was 145 1/3 IP in A-ball back in 2017, so this 10-day IL stint might act as something of a natural rest point that allows him to pitch regularly the rest of the season, assuming a relatively quick return.  That said, Lopez has also had shoulder issues in the past, and the Marlins will undoubtedly carefully monitor his condition to prevent any further injury.  Depending on the severity of his rotator cuff strain, it’s possible Lopez could be shut down entirely for the season, considering that Miami already seems to be looking ahead to 2022.

If the Marlins opted for a starter-by-committee or an opener/bulk pitcher approach to fill Lopez’s rotation spot, Curtiss might be in line for more “starts,” after receiving a few opener assignments with the Rays and Marlins over the last two years.  Curtiss was placed on the 10-day IL due to neck stiffness back on July 4, and he has pitched well in his first season as a Marlin — a 2.67 ERA over 33 2/3 innings, despite some lackluster hard-hit ball numbers.  Curtiss is controlled through the 2025 season, so the Marlins are probably less likely to move him before other relievers in potential deals prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

Rays Trade John Curtiss To Marlins

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The Marlins and Rays are in agreement on a trade sending right-hander John Curtiss from Tampa Bay to Miami in exchange for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

John Curtiss

Curtiss, who’ll turn 28 in early April, had his first taste of Major League success with the Rays in 2020. The former Twins draftee ranked as one of the more promising relief prospects in the organization as he climbed through the minors, but he struggled in the big leagues with two teams (Twins, Angels) and in Triple-A with a third (Phillies) before finally landing with the Rays and ostensibly breaking through.

In 25 innings last year, Curtiss posted a 1.80 ERA with a 25.3 percent strikeout rate and just a three percent walk rate. He’s never displayed that level of command before last year’s shortened season, however, and walks have often been his undoing when he’s struggled. Curtiss also benefited from an 87.2 percent strand rate that he’s not likely to sustain. Curtiss has slightly above-average spin and velocity on his fastball, though he also yielded one of the highest average exit velocities in the game last year (92 mph).

Clearly the Marlins are of the belief that Curtiss can continue to thrive in the big leagues, even if he takes a step back from last year’s sub-2.00 ERA. Curtiss does have multiple minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the club some depth and flexibility in the ’pen for the foreseeable future. He’s controllable all the way through the 2025 campaign if he can manage to solidify himself as a consistent big league presence.

In return for Curtiss, the Rays will receive the 23-year-old Edwards — a 2019 fourth-rounder out of North Carolina State. He only has half a season’s worth of pro experience due to last year’s lack of minor league games, but Edwards was productive in that time. In 308 plate appearances following the draft, Edwards batted .281/.357/.442 with nine homers, 15 doubles and a triple.

It should be noted, though, that the Marlins weren’t particularly aggressive with Edwards’ assignments that year, sending him to short-season Class-A and then the Class-A Midwest League where most of the competition he faced was younger than him. He also posted a 26.9 percent strikeout rate, so he’ll likely need to improve his bat-to-ball skills as he climbs the minor league ladder. Edwards didn’t rank among the Marlins’ top 30 prospects heading into the 2021 season, per Baseball America.

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