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Jose Devers

Braves, José Devers Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and infielder José Devers have agreed to a minor league deal, per Aram Leighton of Just Baseball (X link) and confirmed by MLBTR. The Rep 1 Baseball client will receive an invite to major league spring training.

Devers, 25 next week, was once a notable prospect but hasn’t been able to live up to that hype just yet. An international signing of the Yankees, he was traded to the Marlins as part of the December 2017 trade that brought Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx. The cousin of Rafael Devers, José went on to garner attention to due his athletic defense and strong contact abilities. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 15 prospects in Miami’s system in four straight years from 2019 to 2022.

He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in December of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft, but a significant shoulder issue detailed much of his next two seasons. He only played 33 games between the majors and minors in 2021 and underwent surgery in August of that year to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The recovery lingered into the next season as he only played 60 minor league games in 2022. He cleared waivers and was outrighted off Miami’s roster at the end of the 2022 season.

He was stuck in Triple-A in 2023 but had a decent campaign there, striking out in just 14.8% of his plate appearances while slashing .276/.352/.421 for a 108 wRC+. But in 2024, he spent a bit of time on the minor league injured list and only got into 54 Triple-A games, hitting .239/.304/.362 for a 74 wRC+. He was briefly added to the club’s major league roster as they were playing out a lost season. He has a line of .244/.300/.311 in just 50 major league plate appearances thus far. He wasn’t on the 40-man at season’s end and was able to elect free agency.

For Atlanta, there’s little risk in a minor league deal. Devers has played all four infield positions, primarily up the middle. The club has Ozzie Albies cemented at second base but Orlando Arcia is on shakier ground at shortstop. Nick Allen, Luke Williams and Nacho Alvarez Jr. are on the roster but Devers gives them a bit of non-roster depth.

Devers’ prospect stock has faded of late but he’s still relatively young and has been hurt for many of his recent challenges. If he can stay healthy and get back on track, he still has an option year and barely a year of service time, meaning he can theoretically be cheaply retained well into the future if he can nab a roster spot.

34 Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

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Marlins Outright Jose Devers

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September 21: Devers has cleared outright waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, according to the Transactions Tracker on Devers’s MLB.com profile page.

September 19: The Marlins have designated infielder Jose Devers for assignment, tweets Issac Azout of Fish on First. Miami also optioned infielder David Hensley to Triple-A Jacksonville. That pair of moves will create space for the return of outfielder Derek Hill and infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan, both of whom have been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

It’s the second DFA in the career of Devers, who came to Miami alongside Starlin Castro and Jorge Guzman in the Giancarlo Stanton blockbuster with the Yankees. Devers was also designated for assignment back in 2022 but remained with the organization after going unclaimed on outright waivers. This time around, if he clears, he’ll have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency (as is the right of all players who have previously been outrighted at least once in their career).

Devers, 24, has only received 50 plate appearances in the majors — 46 back in 2021 and just four this season. He’s posted a .244/.300/.311 slash in that tiny sample. It’s tough to glean much information from such minimal playing time, but then again, Devers has hardly forced his way into the big league picture with his minor league play.

To the contrary, Devers has struggled considerably at the plate both in Double-A and Triple-A. He was never projected to hit for power even as a young prospect, instead drawing praise for his speed, glove and bat-to-ball skills. He’s indeed proven tough to strike out, fanning in about 16% of his plate appearances both in Double-A and Triple-A, but he’s also been unable to hit the ball with any sort of authority. Devers is a career .251/.319/.380 hitter in 673 Double-A plate appearances and just a .238/.296/.352 hitter in 249 Triple-A turns at the plate. Despite often being credited with plus speed, he’s never been much of a baserunning threat.

Injuries have played a role in Devers’ struggles. He hit the injured list with a right shoulder impingement early in 2021, not long after making his debut, and eventually underwent surgery to repair the labrum in that shoulder. Recovery from that August surgery unsurprisingly lingered into the 2022 season and limited him to just 60 games overall. Devers appeared in just 96 games in ’23 thanks to further trips to the injured list. He’s posted a tepid .239/.304/.362 batting line in 54 games and 208 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Marlins Select Jose Devers

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The Marlins announced this evening that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jose Devers. Devers will take the roster spot of Vidal Brujan, who has been placed on the 10-day Injured List due to a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. To make room for Devers on the 40-man roster, Miami designated left-hander Jonathan Bermudez for assignment.

Devers, 24, is now in his second stint with the Marlins at the big league level. He made his big league debut with the club back in 2021 but hit just .244/.304/.317 in 21 games in his lone cup of coffee at the big league level. Devers remained on the club’s 40-man roster the following year but was designated for assignment during the 2022-23 offseason. Devers was outrighted to the minors and remained with the club on a minor league deal this past offseason. He hasn’t hit much at the Triple-A level this year, with a .239/.304/.362 slash line in 54 games at the level that’s very reminiscent of his limited exposure in the majors a few years ago.

That said, Devers still appears to be a decent depth option capable of playing all over the infield, and that’s exactly what the Marlins need following the loss of Brujan to the injured list. Once a top prospect with the Rays, Brujan has been a vital piece of Miami’s bench mix this year despite a lackluster .224/.307/.322 slash line in 275 trips to the plate thanks in large part to his versatility. Brujan has appeared at second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions for the Marlins this year.

While Devers has little outfield experience, he actually seems most likely to take over as the club’s regular shortstop for the time being as Brujan has recently been filling in for the injured Xavier Edwards at shortstop. Given the state of the Marlins’ banged up infield, it seems likely that the club will rely on a combination of Devers and Otto Lopez at shortstop for the time being, with Lopez splitting time between shortstop and the keystone and David Hensley also filling in at second base on occasion. This opportunity for semi-regular playing time at the big league level down the stretch should allow Devers to either make his case to remain on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason in Miami, or else prove himself capable enough of holding down a bench job in the majors that another club might be willing to take a shot on him headed into Spring Training next year.

As for Bermudez, the southpaw made his big league debut with the Marlins just last week. He allowed two runs on six hits, including a home run, and no walks while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings of work in his lone big league appearance with the club. Prior to his debut, Bermudez was in the midst of a mixed season in the upper minors. The 28-year-old dominated to the tune of a 2.53 ERA in 14 starts at the Double-A level but earlier this year but struggled badly upon his promotion to Triple-A with a lackluster 6.46 ERA. The Marlins figure to put Bermudez on waivers sometime in the next week, and if the lefty goes unclaimed he’ll have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he so chooses.

Marlins Designate Elieser Hernandez, Four Others For Assignment

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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.

Marlins’ Jose Devers Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Marlins infielder Jose Devers underwent surgery yesterday to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. He’d been on the injured list since mid-June and will now miss the remainder of the 2021 season.

Devers, 21, entered the season ranked tenth among Marlins farmhands at Baseball America and made his big league debut back on April 24. He appeared in 21 games but tallied just 46 plate appearances, batting .244/.304/.317 along the way. It was an aggressive jump for Devers, who played just 33 games at Class-A Advanced in 2019, didn’t have the benefit of a minor league season in 2020, and made his debut before the Triple-A campaign even kicked off in early May. Devers did play in a dozen Triple-A games in between a pair of big league stints, hitting .231/.250/.308 in 41 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Acquired in the Giancarlo Stanton trade with the Yankees, Devers has never been viewed as a likely offensive force. He’s a fleet-footed, contact-oriented hitter with no real power of which to speak and strong defensive skills up the middle. Devers has hit just one professional home run, which came as a 17-year-old with the Yankees’ Gulf Coast League affiliate back in 2017, and has a .071 career ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average).

Between that lack of pop and the presence of Jazz Chisholm and Miguel Rojas in the middle infield, Devers’ role in 2022 (and likely moving forward) could be that of a utility infielder. The Marlins will probably want to get him some more minor league playing time next season, given his general lack of experience in the upper minors.

Marlins Select Luis Madero

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The Marlins have selected the contract of right-hander Luis Madero, Christina de Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay. To create space on the 40-man roster, infielder José Devers has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Madero has bounced on and off the 40-man roster a couple times this year, making his first two major league appearances in the process. He has spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, working mostly as a starting pitcher. The 24-year-old has tossed 29 innings over eight appearances (including six starts) with the Jumbo Shrimp, working to a strong 3.41 ERA. Madero has struck out an above-average 25.6% of batters faced against an average 9.8% walk percentage.

Devers was originally placed on the IL with a right shoulder impingement on June 14. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that time, so the young infielder won’t be back in the big leagues until at least mid-August. Devers has picked up his first 46 MLB plate appearances this year.

Marlins Move Brian Anderson To 60-Day IL, Select Luis Madero

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=The Marlins are set to select the contract of right-hander Luis Madero from Triple-A Jacksonville and transfer third baseman Brian Anderson to the 60-day injured list to create space on the 40-man roster, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Miami will also place infielder Jose Devers on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder injury.

It’s a tough blow for a Marlins club that has been reeling in recent weeks, due in no small part to the loss of Anderson. On the day Anderson made an early exit due to what was eventually revealed to be a left shoulder subluxation, the Marlins were 23-24. They’ve gone 6-12 in the 18 games since, and while the absence of Anderson obviously isn’t the only reason, it’s a primary factor. The 28-year-old got out to a slow start in 2021 but has long been one of the Marlins’ top bats and was one of the hottest hitters in the NL at the time of his injury.

The move to the 60-day injured list means that Anderson will now be ineligible to return before late July. (The 60-day term of the stint refers to his initial placement on the IL — not the date on which the player is transferred to the 60-day list.) A timeline in that range has begun to look increasingly likely, particularly after MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola tweeted earlier today that Anderson has still not been cleared to begin hitting after three weeks on the the injured list.

Miami’s primary options at the hot corner in Anderson’s absence have been Jon Berti and Isan Diaz, and that pairing will likely continue to hold down the fort on a banged-up Marlins club that effectively has an entire infield — Anderson, Miguel Rojas, Devers and Garrett Cooper — on the injured list. They’re thin on additional options in the upper minors, though both Luis Marte and Eddy Alvarez have gotten quick looks from the Marlins over the past year. (Either would need to be added back to the 40-man roster.)

Madero, 24, made his big league debut with the Fish earlier this season but has already gone unclaimed on waivers once, which removed him from the 40-man roster at the time (hence today’s need for a 40-man transaction).

Madero at one point ranked within the top 20 prospects in the Angels organization, per both Baseball America and FanGraphs, but his stock has tumbled since that time. That’s due largely to being rocked for a 5.72 ERA in 89 1/3 frames of a pitcher-friendly Double-A environment back in ’19, but Madero’s work in Triple-A with the Marlins this year has been sharp: 23 2/3 innings of 2.28 ERA ball, albeit with fairly pedestrian strikeout (23.6) and walk (9.2) percentages.

NL East Notes: Acuna, Marlins, Betances, Strasburg

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Ronald Acuna Jr. left today’s game in the bottom of the fifth due to right pectoral tightness, but Braves manager Brian Snitker doesn’t believe the injury is too serious.  Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that the current belief is that Acuna won’t miss any games at all, as the star outfielder will get a chance to rest and recuperate during Atlanta’s off-day on Monday.

Acuna exited games twice earlier in the season with what turned out to be minor injuries — a bruised pinkie after a hit-by-pitch, and a mild abdominal strain suffered while on the basepaths.  A few missed games haven’t slowed down what is shaping up as an MVP-caliber season from the Atlanta superstar, as Acuna is hitting .282/.390/.597 with 18 home runs through 259 plate appearances.

More from the NL East…

  • Jose Devers and Corey Dickerson each left today’s Marlins game with injuries — Devers with right shoulder discomfort after a big swing early in the game, and Dickerson with foot soreness.  Manager Don Mattingly indicated to reporters that Dickerson’s removal was “precautionary,” while Devers could require more examination since the rookie’s shoulder has been bothering him for several days now.
  • Dellin Betances is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment today, Mets manager Luis Rojas told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters.  The right-hander pitched in one game before going on the injured list April 8 due to a shoulder impingement, and while it been a lengthy road to recovery for Betances, the early returns are promising.  “He’s had some really good reads with his fastball.  We’re pretty optimistic about him going into this assignment and keeping ramping things up….He did a good job in the progression, in strengthening the shoulder,” Rojas said, noting that Betances’ fastball was sitting in the 93-94mph range during live batting practice sessions.  Since signing with New York in the 2019-20 offseason, Betances has posted a 7.82 ERA and tossed only 12 2/3 innings over 16 appearances, due to an IL stint due to lat tightness in 2020 and this season’s shoulder problems.
  • Nationals manager Davey Martinez provided an update on Stephen Strasburg, telling reporters (including Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post) that the right-hander has yet to start throwing, as Strasburg is still feeling nerve irritation in his neck.  Strasburg was placed on the 10-day IL on June 2, and it isn’t yet clear when he might be back in action.  This is already Strasburg’s second IL trip of the year, as between shoulder inflammation and his current neck issue, the righty has tossed only 21 2/3 innings.  This comes on the heels of a 2020 season that saw Strasburg pitch five innings total due to carpal tunnel syndrome.  Injuries all over the roster have contributed to Washington’s 27-35 record, and Strasburg’s status could certainly factor into whether the Nats will keep trying for a late-season push, or perhaps look to sell at the trade deadline.

Marlins Notes: Castano, Devers, Sixto

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The Marlins called up Daniel Castano to start today’s game, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). To make room on the roster, Jose Devers was optioned to Triple-A.

Castano has three starts under this belt this season totaling 13 1/3 innings with a 4.73 ERA/5.63 FIP. He was slightly more effective last year with a 3.03 ERA/4.81 FIP across 29 2/3 innings. Castano was part of the Marcell Ozuna trade, coming to Florida with Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, and Magneuris Sierra.

Devers, just 21 years old, went 2-for-12 with five strikeouts and a sac fly. He is the Marlins’ 25th-ranked prospect per Fangraphs. Baseball America named him as the Marlins prospect with the best hit tool; they rank his as the Marlins’ No. 10 prospect. Like Castano, he was acquired via trade. He came to Miami from the Yankees as part of the 2017 Giancarlo Stanton swap.

In other news, the Marlins are hopeful that young phenom Sixto Sanchez will have his shoulder healed enough to make his season debut in June, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Sanchez has not yet appeared this season after working his way into a role as the Marlins’ No. 3 starter during last season’s playoff run.

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