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Shawn Morimando

Recapping The CPBL’s International Player Signings

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Chinese Professional Baseball League teams are preparing for their spring camps, and the last several months have seen the CPBL’s five clubs adding some familiar foreign-born names to their rosters.  Under CPBL rules, teams are allowed to have a maximum of four international players on their active rosters, so with some teams opting to add a fifth or sixth player to keep in their minor leagues for replacement purposes.  However, replacing an international player isn’t as simple as a normal call-up — a foreign player must be released in order to be removed from a CPBL team’s active roster.

There isn’t an official limit on how many international-born players can be signed per team, so it is possible that more names could be added to this list in the coming days or weeks.  (The post will be updated to reflect such moves.)  Much thanks to the CPBL Stats website for their work in reporting on many of these signings.  Here’s the rundown…

CTBC Brothers
Jose De Paula, Shawn Morimando, Francisco Pena, Teddy Stankiewicz, Jose Valdez

Fubon Guardians
Xavier Batista, Yomar Flande Concepcion, Luis Escobar, Joe Van Meter

Rakuten Monkeys
Ryan Bollinger, Dylan Covey, Bradin Hagens, Henry Sosa

Uni-President Lions
Brock Dykxhoorn, Keury Mella, Logan Ondrusek, Wilin Rosario

Wei Chuan Dragons
Jake Brigham, Drew Gagnon, Telvin Nash, Ronny Rodriguez, Bryan Woodall

CPBL’s CTBC Brothers Sign Shawn Morimando, Jose Valdez; Release Gabriel Ynoa

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TODAY: The additions of Morimando and Valdez will help make up for the loss of right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, who was released by the Brothers (hat tip again to CPBL Stats).  Ynoa has spent the last two seasons overseas, pitching in Japan in 2020 before inking a one-year deal with the Brothers last offseason.  A veteran of three MLB seasons, Ynoa had a 5.39 ERA over 163 2/3 innings with the Mets and Orioles from 2016-19.

OCTOBER 8: The CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League announced agreements with left-hander Shawn Morimando and right-hander José Valdez last week (h/t to CPBL Stats). Both Morimando and Valdez have appeared in the major leagues.

Morimando was in the majors as recently as this past August with the Marlins. The 31-year-old bounced on and off the Marlins’ roster a few times, ultimately making four appearances. He was tagged for eleven runs over 10 1/3 innings over his brief MLB look but had a nice 2021 campaign with Triple-A Jacksonville. Morimando made eighteen appearances (including sixteen starts) with the Jumbo Shrimp, tossing 89 2/3 frames of 4.32 ERA ball with strikeout and walk rates not far off the league average and a strong 50.4% ground-ball percentage.

The 2021 season marked Morimando’s second in which he picked up some big league time. The southpaw also worked 4 2/3 innings over a pair of outings with the Indians in 2016. He’s tossed fifteen frames altogether, allowing seventeen runs with fourteen strikeouts and ten walks.

Valdez has appeared in parts of four major league seasons. From 2015-18, he bounced between the Tigers, Angels, Padres and Giants. Overall, he’s worked 55 1/3 innings of relief at the big league level, posting a 6.34 ERA. Valdez has spent the past few seasons pitching in the Mexican League.

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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With the regular season over, a series of players are closing in on free agency. The highest-profile will be available as major league free agents, those with six-plus years of MLB service time not under contract with a team. But there will be dozens of players in the coming weeks who qualify for minor league free agency and more quietly reach the open market as well.

Players can qualify for minor league free agency in a few ways. The most notable of these include: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their careers, and unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Many of these players won’t officially reach free agency until the start of the offseason, but some were let go by their teams a few weeks early once the regular season concluded. Each of the following players has elected minor league free agency within the past week, according to the MLB.com and Triple-A transactions trackers:

Outrighted: Hurst, Paulino, Morimando

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A trio of players have been passed through outright waivers:

  • Cardinals outfielder Scott Hurst will remain at Triple-A Memphis after he cleared waivers. Hurst made his first five big league plate appearances in April but he’s spent the past few months with Memphis. It’s been a difficult season for the lefty-hitting Hurst, who has just a .186/.289/.270 line over 251 plate appearances with the Redbirds.
  • The Phillies have sent right-hander David Paulino to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The former Astro and Blue Jay was selected to Philadelphia’s big league club last week. He got into a major league game for the first time since 2018, allowing two runs in as many innings during a loss to the Reds before being designated for assignment. The 27-year-old Paulino has spent the bulk of the year with the IronPigs, working to a 4.35 ERA over 51 2/3 innings.
  • Marlins left-hander Shawn Morimando has been outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. He has the right to elect free agency but has seemingly accepted the assignment, as he’s listed on the Jumbo Shrimp active roster. That’s not especially surprising, as Morimando had twice previously accepted outright assignments after being waived earlier in the year. The 28-year-old southpaw has a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings with the Fish this season.

Marlins Designate Shawn Morimando, Place Zach Pop On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Shawn Morimando for assignment and placed righty Zach Pop on the 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Jorge Guzman and left-hander Sean Guenther were called up from Triple-A to take the two spots on the active roster.  (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the moves.)

Pop has been sidelined with soreness in the middle finger of his throwing hand, interrupting a very respectable rookie season for the 24-year-old.  Over his first 43 1/3 innings in the majors, Pop has a 4.36 ERA/4.05 SIERA, plus a 58.1% grounder rate that has continued his reputation from the minors as a groundball specialist.  The Marlins landed Pop via the Rule 5 Draft (acquiring the right-hander from the Diamondbacks after Arizona drafted him out of the Orioles’ organization), and Pop has certainly pitched well enough to remain on the MLB roster for the entire season, so Miami will retain his rights going forward.

This is the second time the Marlins have DFA’ed Morimando this season, with the first designation resulting in an outright assignment to Triple-A for the southpaw.  After making his big league debut with Cleveland in 2016, Morimando didn’t receive another MLB opportunity until this season, when he posted a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings for the Marlins.

Marlins Select Deven Marrero, Shawn Morimando

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The Marlins are selecting infielder Deven Marrero and left-hander Shawn Morimando to the big league roster, relays Christina de Nicola of MLB.com (Twitter link). Second baseman Jazz Chisholm is landing on the COVID-19 injured list. Chisholm has been suffering from virus-like symptoms and stayed behind in Denver, where the Fish just wrapped up a series against the Rockies.

Both Marrero and Morminado have been yo-yoed on and off the roster this season. Miami has rather remarkably selected Marrero’s contract four times, designating him for assignment and passing him through outright waivers shortly after each of his first three calls. Most recently, Marrero was selected and DFA’d just last week — incidentally while Chisholm was on the COVID-19 IL for a day after not feeling well. The 30-year-old has only picked up seven plate appearances over his various big league stints; he’s hitting .252/.327/.397 this year with Triple-A Jacksonville.

Morimando is up for the third time. He’s made two appearances, allowing four runs in just two-thirds of an inning against the Phillies on May 24 but tossing five scoreless frames against the Braves on July 9. The 28-year-old has a 4.43 ERA over 63 innings with Jacksonville this season.

Marlins Activate Jorge Guzman

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The Marlins have activated right-hander Jorge Guzman from the 60-day injured list, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay. He has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, which is now full.

Guzman, a hard-throwing pitching prospect, made his MLB debut with Miami last season. He began this year with Jacksonville, making four appearances before going down with elbow inflammation. A starting pitcher for much of his minor league career, he’d been working out of the bullpen with the Jumbo Shrimp this season. That’s generally been the expected outcome for the 25-year-old. Entering the year, Baseball America ranked Guzman the #22 prospect in the organization, writing that he could be a productive reliever if he develops adequate control.

Additionally, the Marlins outrighted a pair of hurlers who had recently been designated for assignment: lefty Shawn Morimando and righty Preston Guilmet. Both pitchers made one-day cameos on the roster last weekend. Morimando tossed five innings of scoreless relief, while Guilmet was designated without having made an appearance. Both pitchers have been outrighted before, giving them the right to elect free agency in lieu of assignment to Jacksonville.

Marlins Select Preston Guilmet, Designate Shawn Morimando For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated Shawn Morimando for assignment and selected the contract of Preston Guilmet, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

Guilmet first appeared in the Majors back in 2013 as a 25 year old for the Indians. Since then, he’s dressed for the Orioles, Rays, Brewers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays for a total 33 innings across 27 appearances. He has not, however, appeared in the Majors since 2018, and he currently owns a 9.27 ERA/6.61 FIP for his career. Now 33, Guilmet has a 3.55 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Jacksonville this season.

Morimando, 28, was a 19th round draft pick of the Indians back in 2011. He did eventually make his Major League debut in Cleveland, but with just two appearances in 2016.

His next two appearances in the Majors came this year with the Marlins. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. The southpaw doesn’t have great numbers in Triple-A the past few seasons, though he has worked almost exclusively as a starter, so it’s possible he could find new life as a reliever somewhere. That said, it certainly means something that none of the three organizations he’s been a part of have viewed him as an asset in that capacity.

Marlins Select Shawn Morimando

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The Marlins announced they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Shawn Morimando. Right-hander Nick Neidert was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville to create active roster space, while lefty Daniel Castano was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s the second time Morimando has been selected to the big league roster this season. He was added in late May but designated for assignment and ultimately passed through waivers not long thereafter. He’s spent the bulk of the campaign in Jacksonville, where he’s made nine starts. Across 44 1/3 innings, Morimando has pitched to a 4.87 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (20.5% and 10.3%, respectively). He has, however, racked up ground balls at a lofty 53.4% clip with the Jumbo Shrimp.

In addition to his one appearance with the Marlins this year, he pitched in a pair of big league games with the 2016 Indians. Morimando will be on hand as a potential multi-inning relief option tonight. The Fish were originally scheduled to hand the ball to Zach Thompson. Manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including Craig Mish of SportsGrid) that the righty fell under the weather, forcing Miami into an impromptu bullpen game.

Castano landed on the 10-day IL on June 8 with a left shoulder impingement. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date, so he won’t be eligible to return until early August. The 26-year-old has made four starts for the Marlins this season, tossing 17 1/3 innings of 5.19 ERA/5.60 SIERA ball.

Marlins Place Jordan Holloway On 10-Day IL, Select Shawn Morimando

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The Marlins have placed righty Jordan Holloway on the 10-day injured list, GM Kim Ng told the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters.  The Marlins will select the contract of left-hander Shawn Morimando to take Holloway’s spot on the active roster, and right-hander Elieser Hernandez will be moved to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Morimando.

Holloway threw one inning in last night’s 6-5 loss to the Mets, but left the game due to groin soreness.  Holloway was the second of 10 Miami pitchers to take the mound during the 12-inning game, and the addition of Morimando gives the Marlins at least one more fresh arm heading into today’s action.

While Holloway’s 19.2% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate are both well below average, the righty has nonetheless been effective over 17 2/3 innings of work this season, posting a 2.55 ERA.  Holloway’s 5.20 SIERA reflects some significant good fortune, but Holloway has avoided damage with some outstanding hard-contact numbers.

Morimando is now in line to receive his first MLB action since the 2016 season.  Originally a 19th-round pick for the Indians in the 2011 draft, the lefty’s Major League resume consists of 4 2/3 innings for Cleveland in 2016.  Since that cup of coffee in the Show, Morimando pitched in the Blue Jays’ farm system in 2018-19 and he had a stint in the Australian Baseball League before inking a minor league deal with Miami this past offseason.

Hernandez has only pitched in one game this season due to biceps inflammation, so the shift to the 60-day IL covers the time he has already spent on the sidelines.  The right-hander has already thrown one rehab outing, and Hernandez should be in line for at least one more rehab start before being eligible for activation.

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