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Starling Marte

NL Notes: Miley, Reds, Mets, Marte, Brewers, Junk

By Mark Polishuk | January 1, 2024 at 5:18pm CDT

The Reds’ search for starting pitching help has resulted in deals with Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez, while the team has been linked to several other pitchers who either remain available (in trades or in free agency) or have since landed elsewhere.  MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports that one of those now-signed pitching targets included Wade Miley, as Cincinnati had some talks with the veteran left-hander before Miley re-signed with the Brewers.

There’s plenty of familiarity between the two sides, as Miley pitched for the Reds in 2020-21 and posted a 3.55 ERA over 177 1/3 innings.  The Reds held a $10MM club option on his services for 2022, yet as part of a payroll cutback, Cincinnati put Miley on waivers (where he was quickly claimed by the Cubs) in order to part ways without even paying the $1MM buyout on that option.  Miley has since posted a 3.15 ERA in 157 1/3 innings with Chicago and Milwaukee since the start of the 2022 campaign, though injuries again limited his availability.

Miley received $8.5MM in guaranteed money in his one-year deal with the Brewers, and the Reds went beyond that price range in their one-year, $16MM deal with Montas.  With $106.2MM spent so far this winter, Cincinnati has been one of the offseason’s busier teams in free agency, and it seems possible the Reds might not be done with their efforts to bolster the pitching staff.

More from around the National League…

  • The Mets have added several relievers this offseason, including Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin, Austin Adams, and a spate of pitchers signed to minor league contracts.  However, “a more robust signing for the bullpen shouldn’t be ruled out,” The Athletic’s Will Sammon writes, after the Mets address some more pressing needs.  Those hoping for a reunion between Josh Hader and David Stearns in Queens may be out of luck since New York isn’t expected to pursue any long-term deals until at least next offseason, yet the Mets could still look to add a prominent reliever without necessarily shopping at the very top of the free agent market.
  • In other Mets news, Sammon writes that Starling Marte may play some winter ball in his native Dominican Republic this month, as the outfielder is looking to get back to full fitness after an injury-plagued pair of seasons.  Marte battled through leg and groin injuries in 2022 and underwent surgery on both groins following that season, then hit only .248/.301/.324 over 341 plate appearances and 86 games in 2023.  In addition to some lingering after-effects from his groin surgery, Marte also missed time due to a neck strain, migraines, and then another groin strain that brought his season to a close on August 7.  Marte is therefore a question mark as he heads into his age-35 season, and the Mets’ recent acquisition of Tyrone Taylor might not be the last outfield add the club makes, Sammon observes.
  • Janson Junk has started seven of his nine career MLB games and 86 of his 112 career minor league appearances, but Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wonders if Junk’s future might ultimately be as a relief pitcher.  In the second of his two Major League appearances with the Brewers last season, Hogg noted that Junk’s fastball twice hit 96mph on the radar gun, a significant step beyond his 92.1mph fastball velocity in Triple-A.  If this extra velo is sustainable in a more limited relief capacity, Junk’s fastball suddenly become a more dangerous pitch, perhaps making him an interesting bullpen candidate since he can pair that upgraded heater with a solid curveball.  Teams usually don’t look to transition starting pitchers to relief work unless circumstances or performance demands because rotation depth is so valuable, yet should Junk (who has a 4.07 ERA and middling secondary metrics over 495 1/3 career minor league innings) get some looks as a reliever, it might help him more firmly find a niche in the majors.
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Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets Notes Janson Junk Starling Marte Wade Miley

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Mets Looking To Add Multiple Starting Pitchers This Offseason

By Darragh McDonald | November 9, 2023 at 3:40pm CDT

The Mets want to add multiple starting pitchers this winter, president of baseball operations David Stearns tells Tim Healey of Newsday. However, that may not involve pursuing the top guys available. “You always love to bring in top-flight talent and top-flight pitching,” Stearns said. “Do I think we need one? No. You can compile pitching staffs in a variety of different ways. Certainly any time you have horses at the front of the rotation, it makes everything else a little bit easier. But it’s not impossible to do it without that.”

The fact that the club is looking to make a number of additions is fairly sensible. Last year, they traded away their co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline. At the end of the season, Carlos Carrasco became a free agent and David Peterson underwent hip surgery that will keep him out of action until the middle of next year.

That leaves the rotation with Kodai Senga and José Quintana in two spots, with Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and José Butto options for the back end. Megill had a 4.70 earned run average in 2023 but with subpar strikeout and walk rates of 18.5% and 10.2%, respectively. Lucchesi had a strong 2.89 ERA in his nine starts but with just a 16.4% strikeout rate, likely helped by a strand rate of 80.1%. Butto has just 46 innings of major league work and he just posted a 5.93 ERA at Triple-A in 2023.

Given the state of things, it’s understandable that the club will be looking to bring in multiple arms in order to improve the rotation for 2024. Exactly how aggressive they will be is an open question. The club had the highest payroll in baseball history in 2023 but that didn’t work out and it seems 2024 might be something of a transitional year. It’s tough to know exactly what it looks like for owner Steve Cohen to take a step back from record-setting spending, as that could still lead to the club forking out plenty of money. Agent Scott Boras was asked about this and phrased it thusly: “When you have the bigger jet, and you say you’re going slower, you’re still going faster,” Boras said, per Will Sammon of The Athletic.

That perhaps suggests the club is still indicating a certain level of aggression in its conversations with player agents, but the comments from Stearns also imply they might be happy to spread money around to various mid-level guys as opposed to targeting aces. At the top of the free agent market, pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Jordan Montgomery are likely to land nine-figure deals. There should also be sizeable eight-figure deals available to pitchers like Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez and Shota Imanaga. Then there will be guys like Luis Severino, Frankie Montas and Hyun Jin Ryu that should be attainable on low-cost bounceback deals. Time will tell how the Mets plan to assess these options but making a long-term investment would make sense even if they are pumping the brakes a bit. Quintana has just one year left on his deal and most of the club’s top prospects are position players, meaning there’s even more rotation uncertainty in the long term.

Stearns was also asked about first baseman Pete Alonso, per Sammon, and reiterated his previous position that he doesn’t expect a preseason trade. “I think I do not anticipate him getting traded,” Stearns said. “I don’t draw lines in the sand. And I’m never gonna say never. But I absolutely think it’s fair that I don’t anticipate him being traded.” Alonso is going into his final arbitration season before reaching free agency, so the club will have to pick a lane at some point. But with a good deal of uncertainty about the 2024 club, it seems they are leaning towards holding. If the club has another poor season in 2024, they could always pivot to a deadline deal.

Another option would be to pursue an extension. It doesn’t sound like anything is imminent there but it also doesn’t seem like the lines of communication are dead. “When it comes to the Polar Bear, we’re not in contract hibernation,” Boras said. He added that he follows the instructions given to him by his clients and Alonso has told him to listen to whatever the Mets have to say.

Sammon also rounds up a few other bits of Mets’ news from a busy week in the baseball world, including the fact that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is going to stay on as pitching coach. With the club adding a new manager in Carlos Mendoza, it wasn’t known if he would then bring in someone from the outside for that job but Hefner will apparently stick around. Meanwhile, the club won’t hire a general manager this winter. Billy Eppler was going to be in that role before stepping aside amid an investigation into the club’s misuse of the injured list. Front offices are generally composed of dozens of decision makers, from assistant GMs to vice-presidents and so on, meaning the lack of someone with that specific GM title won’t mean much with Stearns the primary decision maker.

Turning back to the roster, neither outfielder Starling Marte nor infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil are expected to require offseason surgery. Marte had groin surgery last offseason and never seemed to be fully healthy in 2023, finishing the year on the injured list due to ongoing issues with his groin. McNeil, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his left elbow. He throws with his right arm anyway but it appears both he and Marte are making good progress and can perhaps return without going under the knife this winter. As for designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, the club is still undecided on whether or not they will tender him a contract for 2024. The non-tender deadline is November 17, giving them just over a week to pick a path with him. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Vogelbach for a salary of $2.6MM.

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New York Mets Daniel Vogelbach Jeff McNeil Jeremy Hefner Pete Alonso Starling Marte

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Mets Shut Starling Marte Down For The Season

By Leo Morgenstern | September 27, 2023 at 2:11pm CDT

Starling Marte has officially been shut down for the season, Mets manager Buck Showalter announced to reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The outfielder has been on the injured list with a groin strain since early August.

Up until this point, Marte was holding out hope he could return before the end of the year. However, he also knew it was a possibility he’d need groin surgery in the offseason. He had groin surgery last winter, too, and given his poor performance this season, it seems like he never fully recovered.

It’s understandable why Marte would want to get back in the lineup for one last chance to turn around his disappointing season, but it’s hard to argue with the team’s decision to shut him down. With the Triple-A season complete, he would have had to return without a rehab assignment, and considering the Mets’ 71-85 record, there was never going to be a good reason to rush him back and risk his long-term health. The 34-year-old is under contract for two more seasons, and it is in everyone’s best interest to make sure he’s fully healthy before he gets back on the field.

From 2021-22, Marte was one of the better hitting outfielders in the game. In just over 1,000 plate appearances, he posted an .828 OPS with 28 home runs and 65 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he looked like a shell of his former self in 2023, posting career-worst numbers across the board. His .625 OPS was the lowest of his career by nearly 100 points. Perhaps with an offseason of rest and recovery (and potentially surgery), Marte will be able to rediscover his All-Star form in 2024.

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New York Mets Starling Marte

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New York Notes: Marte, Mets, Hamilton, Rizzo

By Nick Deeds | September 3, 2023 at 6:30pm CDT

Mets outfielder Starling Marte hasn’t appeared in the majors in nearly a month due to a right groin strain, and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo notes that the veteran has received two cortisone injections and spent the past week working with a lower leg specialist in Philadelphia in hopes of returning to the field this season. Per DiComo, Marte’s discussion with reporters proved to come with news that’s both encouraging and ominous: while Marte is optimistic that he’ll be able to play for the Mets again in 2023, it’s possible Marte will have to undergo a groin surgery identical to the one he underwent back in November this offseason.

Marte made the second All Star appearance of his career with the Mets in 2022, slashing a strong .292/.347/.468 with a 134 wRC+ in 505 trips to the plate with the club last year. The now 34-year-old veteran struggled badly this season prior to heading to the injured list, however, slashing just .248/.301/.324 in 341 trips to the plate. That performance is good for a wRC+ of just 76 this year, 24% worse than league average. With two years and over $40MM left on Marte’s contract, the possibility of another season hampered by the same offseason surgery that hindered him this season is sure to be worrisome for Mets fans. The club is currently relying on DJ Stewart and Jeff McNeil in the outfield corners alongside Brandon Nimmo in center.

More from New York’s teams…

  • Sticking with the Mets, GM Billy Eppler spoke to Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio this afternoon. During the conversation, Eppler indicated to the duo that the Mets would be active in the starting pitching market this offseason. That should hardly come as a surprise, given the club shipped out Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the trade deadline earlier this season, leaving the club with few surefire starting options outside of Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana headed into next year. Youngsters David Peterson and Tylor Megill are currently in the rotation for the club, but both sport ERAs over 5.00 this season. Fortunately for the Mets, the upcoming free agent pitching class is deep with quality options, including the likes of Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
  • The Yankees lost right-hander Ian Hamilton to the injured list earlier today thanks to a right groin strain, with fellow righty Greg Weissert replacing him on the active roster. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that Hamilton’s injury is the same one that caused him to miss roughly six weeks earlier this summer. Per Hoch, the club is holding out hope that Hamilton will be able to return this year, but Boone acknowledged it’s possible he’s done for the season. Hamilton joined the club on a minor league deal back in February and has proven to be a stalwart member of the club’s bullpen this year, with a 2.24 ERA and 2.74 FIP in 52 1/3 innings of work.
  • Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been out since last month due to post-concussion syndrome, is going through baseball activities in New York, as Boone told reporters (including Hoch) this evening. While Rizzo has not suffered a setback as he looks to return to the field, Boone indicated that the club intends to sit down with their veteran first baseman in order to discuss Rizzo’s progress in rehabbing the injury. With less than a month left in the regular season and Rizzo seemingly not close to beginning a rehab assignment, it seems unlikely that the 33-year-old will return this season, though Boone said as recently as August 23 a return before the end of the year was “realistic,” per MLB.com.
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New York Mets New York Yankees Notes Anthony Rizzo Ian Hamilton Starling Marte

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Mets Option Brett Baty, Place Starling Marte On Injured List

By Anthony Franco and Steve Adams | August 7, 2023 at 4:34pm CDT

The Mets have optioned third baseman Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse, placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list with a groin strain, recalled infielder Jonathan Araúz and selected the contract of journeyman outfielder Abraham Almonte. Almonte’s promotion was first reported by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Paired with their selection of reliever Jimmy Yacabonis over the weekend, New York’s 40-man roster is at capacity.

Baty heads back to Triple-A for the first time since April. The recent top prospect began the season in Syracuse but got off to a roaring .400/.500/.886 start. That earned him a big league call a couple weeks into the year — his second promotion after a debut late last season. Baty quickly pushed Eduardo Escobar to the bench (and eventually made him expendable in trade) and started the season well, mashing at a .333/.394/.467 clip through the end of April.

The 23-year-old has hit a major slump since that excellent first month. He’s been a below-average hitter in each month since that point. Things have particularly spiraled of late. Since the All-Star Break, Baty is hitting .130/.211/.261 while striking out in 31.2% of his 77 plate appearances. While the Mets have turned their attention towards 2024, the struggles simply became untenable. They’ll hope Baty can find his stride against lower-level pitching.

Whether he does so could have implications for Baty’s long-term earning power. He entered the season with 50 days of major league service. Between his April 17 recall and today, he has accrued roughly 112 days of additional service time. That brings him to 162 days overall. Players get to a full service year at 172 days, meaning Baty’s approximately 10 days shy of that mark. If he returns to the big leagues for a week and a half later in the season, he’ll surpass the one-year threshold and remain on pace to reach free agency after the 2028 campaign. If he spends the remainder of the season in the minors, his free agency trajectory would be pushed back until after the ’29 season — though he’ll be on pace to reach arbitration after 2025 as a Super Two player in that case.

Danny Mendick draws into the starting lineup at third base against the Cubs this evening. 23-year-old Mark Vientos seems the favorite for playing time there overall, with Mendick and Araúz offering utility depth behind him.

Marte’s rough 2023 campaign continues. He just returned from a two-week IL stay because of recurring migraine issues. The hamstring injury is obviously unrelated but represents another frustration in one of the worst seasons of his career. Around the injuries, Marte has hit only .248/.301/.324 with five homers through 341 trips to the plate.

His absence opens an outfield spot for Almonte. The switch-hitting outfielder signed a minor league deal over the offseason and is hitting .228/.331/.564 over 27 games in Syracuse. He’s striking out at a lofty 31.4% clip but has connected on 11 homers and is drawing plenty of walks. Almonte is accustomed to the role of late-season call-up. It’s his 11th straight year reaching the bigs, though he’s never played more than 82 games in any single season. Almonte will soon suit up for the eighth team of his career. He’s a .235/.302/.374 hitter in a little under 1400 MLB plate appearances.

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New York Mets Transactions Abraham Almonte Brett Baty Jimmy Yacabonis Jonathan Arauz Starling Marte

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Mets Place Starling Marte On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | July 20, 2023 at 12:50pm CDT

The Mets have informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that they have placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list due to migraines. The corresponding move might not be known right away since the Mets are playing right now and won’t be able to make use of a new player until tomorrow’s night game. The move is retroactive to July 17.

Marte, 34, hasn’t played in a game since Sunday. He was originally in Tuesday’s lineup but was a late scratch due to this migraine situation, per Andy Martino of SNY. He’s still not in the lineup today and it seems the club has decided to give him some time to try to get past the issue. Since the move is backdated by three days, he could potentially be back in a week if he’s able to feel better.

The veteran is struggling through arguably the worst season of his career. Signed to a four-year, $78MM deal going into 2022, he continued at his established level last year. He hit 16 home runs and batted .292/.347/.468 overall for a wRC+ of 136. This year, unfortunately, he’s down to a line of .254/.308/.332 and a wRC+ of 83.

While that diminished production might make it seem like not such a big loss for the Mets, there are reasons to expect that he might have rounded into his previous form eventually. His 39.9% hard hit rate this year is actually much higher than last year’s 33.9% clip. His 88.4 mph average exit velocity is his highest since 2019. His .309 batting average in balls in play is well south of his .342 career mark and just 7% of his fly balls are leaving the yard. That’s well below his career 13.5% rate and the 12.4% league average. Even without a bounceback at the plate, Marte remains a threat on the basepaths, having already swiped 24 bags this year.

At this point, there’s nothing to suggest Marte is slated for an extended absence, but the timing is notable. The Mets have been floundering for much of the year and are currently 45-50, seven games back of a Wild Card spot. There’s now less than two weeks until the August 1 trade deadline as the Mets try to figure out which kind of moves they want to make. Owner Steve Cohen recently talked about how it would be “silly” to make additions if they stayed well out of contention.

For at least the next week or so, the club will proceed without Marte. Brandon Nimmo is a fixture in center and figures to be flanked by some combination of Mark Canha, Tommy Pham and DJ Stewart, though the upcoming corresponding move could also put someone else in the mix. Jeff McNeil is the regular second baseman but also plays some outfield on occasion. Both Pham and Canha are impending free agents and speculative trade candidates, with Canah reportedly drawing interest from other clubs.

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New York Mets Transactions Starling Marte

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Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, No. 2: Marlins Cash In Marte

By Steve Adams | June 15, 2023 at 5:45pm CDT

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we at MLBTR are setting our sights backwards for a bit to highlight past trades of rental players to provide a loose guideline of what sort of returns fans can expect with their teams’ current rental players. With an arbitrary cutoff point of 2017-21, we’re counting down the top 10 returns that a team got when selling a rental player. We’ve already published some honorable mentions as well as entries No. 10, No. 9, No. 8, No. 7, No. 6, No. 5, No. 4 and No. 3. If you disagree with our rankings, let us know! It’s all part of the subjective fun! Onto No. 2…

The Marlins and Starling Marte at one point both hoped the dynamic outfielder would spend the final years of his career in Miami. Marte, whom the Fish acquired from the D-backs at the 2020 trade deadline when he had a season and a half of club control remaining, immediately took a liking to South Beach and voiced a desire to remain there long-term. A then-32-year-old Marte was willing to talk extension during the season in 2021, and the two parties headed into the All-Star break in the midst of extension negotiations.

Starling Marte | Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsReporting from Craig Mish, Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald at the time indicated that Marte was seeking a four-year extension offer that would cover his age-33 through age-36 seasons — a reasonable request for a player of his caliber. Marte entered that year’s All-Star break with a strong .271/.382/.411 batting line, after all, and was a career .287/.341/.450 hitter entering that 2021 campaign.

The Marlins said all the right things publicly about wanting to keep Marte, but Mish and McPherson reported after the All-Star break that the team had topped out on a three-year offer worth less than $40MM. That type of offer was never going to get a deal done — Marte wound up signing a four-year, $78MM deal in free agency in the offseason, remember — and it was a bit surprising the Fish even put it out there. Regardless, the focus shifted to finding a trade partner for Marte, and in the end, things could hardly have worked out better for Miami.

Marte, as one would expect, quickly became a hot commodity on the trade market once it became clear that an extension in Miami wasn’t happening. The Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Astros were among the teams showing interest, and San Francisco in particular appeared to be a strong on-paper fit. There was never any talk about the Athletics harboring interest in Marte, and their outfield appeared largely set anyhow — at least from the outside looking in. Just days after the trade deadline, however, Ramon Laureano was hit with an 80-game PED ban. He’d almost certainly already gone through the appeals process by that point, so there’s a chance the A’s had a strong inkling they’d need some outfield help by the time they swung their July 28 deal for Marte.

Regardless of the circumstances that led to the trade, it was a legitimate shocker. There’d been virtually nothing to link the two teams prior to the deal, and a low-payroll club like the A’s taking on an expensive rental player didn’t seem plausible. Miami, however, kicked in $4MM to help cover the remainder of Marte’s salary. Owner Bruce Sherman was likely plenty OK with doing so, given the return.

Jesus Luzardo entered the 2020 season as the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball. He had a decent but not elite rookie campaign during the pandemic-shortened 2020 sprint (4.12 ERA in 59 innings). Paired with a strong showing during his 12-inning cup of coffee as a 21-year-old late in the 2019 season, he looked ready for primetime and entered the ’21 season regarded as a breakout candidate who could soon front Oakland’s rotation.

Things didn’t pan out that way. Luzardo was rocked for a 5.79 ERA through his first six starts and was placed on the injured list after sustaining a hairline fracture in his left pinkie. The injury, one of the more bizarre IL trips in recent memory, occurred after Luzardo hit his hand on a desk while playing video games. The lefty apologized to the team and fans after the fact, calling the injury “stupid” and “immature.” Luzardo returned a month later, this time pitching out of the bullpen, and allowed 11 runs in 10 innings before being optioned to stretch back out as a starter.

Embarrassing injury aside, the future still seemed plenty bright for Luzardo, even with a poor 38 innings to begin his 2021 season. Perhaps the video game incident contributed to the forthcoming decision. Perhaps the A’s just didn’t feel Luzardo would live up to his prospect status. Or, more likely, perhaps vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst knew full-well what was coming in the offseason — massive payroll cuts from ownership and the inevitable teardown of a roster that won 97 games in both 2018 and 2019 — and simply felt they needed to push all-in for a ring in 2021.

The 56-46 Athletics traded Luzardo, who still had five years of club control remaining, to the Marlins in order to acquire the final two-plus months of Marte’s contract before he reached free agency.

I used the term “deadline-season stunner” at the time of the trade and still feel that holds up. It’s simply rare for an MLB-ready pitcher with this much promise and this much club control to be moved at all — let alone for a two-month rental. That the acquiring team was a small-market, low-payroll club like the A’s and hadn’t been linked to Marte whatsoever only added to the surprise. In all likelihood, this trade coming together required a perfect storm: the looming PED ban for Laureano, the regrettable freak injury for Luzardo early in the season, and career years/breakouts from several A’s pitchers (Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, Cole Irvin, James Kaprielian) that all made Luzardo feel a bit more expendable.

In an all too common refrain for the tortured Oakland fanbase these days, the trade hasn’t worked out for the A’s. Granted, Marte was brilliant in green and gold, hitting .316/.359/.466 with five homers, 16 doubles, a pair of triples and a hefty 25 steals in just 56 games. The Athletics couldn’t have realistically asked for much more than that, but the rest of the team didn’t hold up well enough to even reach the postseason.

The A’s still finished 10 games over .500, but Oakland lost nine of its final 13 games, finishing third place in the AL West and winding up five games out in the AL Wild Card chase. Marte reached free agency and was ineligible for a qualifying offer by virtue of that midseason trade. Oakland received no compensation for his departure, and ownership gutted payroll as the front office embarked on yet another rebuild.

Down in Miami, things got out to a rocky start as well. Luzardo’s velocity was down a bit in a dozen post-trade starts, and he posted a 6.44 ERA with the Marlins overall in his first run with the club. It wasn’t a great start.

Things took a sharp turn in Miami’s favor the following season. Luzardo, born in Peru but raised in Florida, looked far more comfortable in the first full season of his homecoming. A forearm injury limited him to 100 1/3 innings, but he broke out with a 3.32 ERA, a 30% strikeout rate and an 8.8% walk rate — all while displaying a career-best 96.4 mph average on his heater. His swinging-strike and opponent chase rates were the highest of his career, and he gave up less hard contact than he had during his ugly 2021 campaign.

The Marlins received trade interest in Luzardo over the winter and surely could’ve moved him for a haul of young talent if they’d preferred, but the Fish held onto the still just 25-year-old lefty and now find themselves in the running for a postseason berth. Miami has won eight of ten games and is just three and a half games behind the division-leading Braves in the NL East. If the season ended today, the Fish would land the National League’s second Wild Card spot.

Luzardo has been a key part of that, although his recent six-run clunker did mark his third start of five or more runs allowed this year. Even with that trio of rough outings, Luzardo has a 4.17 ERA. His 27.3% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate are much more encouraging, however. Like many pitchers on a Marlins club that is playing multiple players out of position, Luzardo’s been hampered by his defense (.335 BABIP). Fielding-independent metrics like FIP and SIERA both peg him at 3.58 so far this season.

Dating back to Opening Day 2021, Luzardo has given the Marlins 32 starts and 178 innings of 3.69 ERA ball with a 28.8% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s not only regained any velocity that dipped in 2021 but is now averaging a career-high 96.8 mph on his heater. Luzardo’s swinging-strike and chase rates both suggest there’s the potential for even more strikeouts. Even if his results never catch up to the strong marks he’s receiving from fielding-independent numbers, the 2021-22 version of Luzardo is already a playoff-caliber starting pitcher. He may not be an “ace,” and fans can debate whether he’s more of a “No. 2” or “No. 3” type starter, but he’s solidified himself as an above-average starter with upside for more.

The Marlins control Luzardo for three more years beyond the current season. He reached arbitration as a Super Two player this past winter and is already earning $2.45MM. As a Scott Boras client, an extension isn’t likely, so expect Luzardo’s name to pop up in trade rumors again as he inches closer to free agency. Even by Miami payroll standards, he’s a bargain in 2023 and will be again in 2024, so a trade in the short-term doesn’t seem likely. For now, he’ll continue slotting into the rotation of a surprisingly competitive Miami club that could enter the deadline as a buyer if it can maintain any semblance of its current pace.

As for the A’s, they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, with their primary 2023 goal at this point being to avoid the worst record in big league history. It’s hard to blame the Oakland front office for going all in and trading Luzardo, knowing the fire sale was coming, but the A’s would be a lot less futile with him in the rotation. Or, at the very least, the farm system would likely be stronger with the influx of young talent they could’ve acquired by putting him on the market as part of the rebuild this past offseason.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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MLBTR Originals Miami Marlins Oakland Athletics Jesus Luzardo Starling Marte

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Injury Notes: Duvall, Marte, Marlins

By Mark Polishuk and Nick Deeds | April 9, 2023 at 4:40pm CDT

Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall left his game after suffering an apparent wrist injury while making a diving play in center field, as noted by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. As noted by Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe, Duvall had x-rays done on his wrist, the same one on which he underwent season-ending surgery in 2022, following his exit from today’s game. No results have been announced regarding Duvall’s x-ray. Duvall signed with the club this past offseason on a one-year, $7MM guarantee.

Should Duvall miss significant time, Boston figures to rely on some combination of Raimel Tapia and Jarren Duran in center field, though the heavily left-handed Red Sox could also give Yu Chang additional starts at shortstop, allowing Enrique Hernandez to move from the infield back into center field, where he spent the majority of the past two seasons. Regardless of who ultimately replaces Duvall in the lineup, any missed time would be a real blow to Boston’s offense early in the season, as Duvall has raked to open the 2023 campaign. In his first 33 plate appearances this season, Duvall has slashed a whopping .483/.545/1.138 with four home runs, five doubles, and a triple while either scoring or knocking in 25 of the club’s 55 runs.

More injury updates…

  • Starling Marte left today’s game against the Marlins after the first inning due to what the Mets described as a neck strain.  Marte suffered the injury while stealing third base in the bottom of the first, as Marte’s slide took him headfirst into the knee of Miami third baseman Jean Segura.  He remained in the game for the remainder of the inning, but Jeff McNeil moved from second base to take Marte’s spot in the right field for the top of the second. Manager Buck Showalter expressed optimism regarding Marte, telling reporters (including Laura Albanese of Newsday) “so far so good” as it pertains to Marte having avoided a concussion. Any missed time by Marte seems likely to benefit outfielder Tommy Pham in terms of playing time, though it’s also possible that the club could call up a player like Danny Mendick to take some starts if Marte requires a trip to the injured list.
  • The Marlins had a pair of players leave today’s game as well, with Avisail Garcia exiting the game with what was termed “left hamstring soreness”, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson, while J.T. Chargois exited with an apparent injury just three pitches into the seventh inning. Chargois, who the Marlins acquired from the Rays via trade back in November, has been a useful reliever in recent years, recording a 2.36 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 80 innings since the start of the 2021 season. Garcia, on the other hand, is entering the second season of a four-year deal he signed with the Marlins prior to the 2021 season that he has struggled to live up to to this point. Despite entering the contract as a career 104 wRC+ hitter coming off a strong 29-homer season in 2021 where he posted a wRC+ of 116, Garcia has slashed just .216/.259/.310 (62 wRC+) in his first 106 games as a Marlin, with a 28.9% strikeout rate above his career norms and just nine home runs.
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Injury Notes: Marte, Guzman, Guerrero, O’Hearn, Hall

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2023 at 7:22pm CDT

Starling Marte will undergo further tests on Monday after being hit in the head by an Elvin Rodriguez pitch in today’s game.  Marte was able to walk off the field by himself and initial concussion tests were negative, yet the Mets will naturally be very careful in monitoring any sort of head-related injury.

It was only Marte’s second game of Spring Training, as he didn’t take the field until last Friday due to the Mets’ desire to slowly bring Marte back up to speed following groin surgery in November.  The club expected the outfielder to be ready for Opening Day, and that should still be the case, if Marte has indeed escaped injury after today’s scary incident.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • Ronald Guzman left today’s Cactus League game in obvious pain after throwing a pitch, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group) that Guzman was undergoing tests for discomfort in his forearm.  It’s an ominous turn of events for Guzman, who has been one of Spring Training’s more interesting stories as he pursues a new chapter in his career as a two-way player.  The former Rangers/Yankees first baseman inked a minor league deal with the Giants, in large part because San Francisco was the only team willing to give Guzman a chance to pitch.
  • Knee inflammation kept Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from participating in the World Baseball Classic, and the Blue Jays slugger hasn’t played in any spring games since last Friday.  However, Guerrero has been facing live pitching and taking part in fielding drills, and manager John Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that Guerrero reported no issues after running the bases.  If all goes well after another base-running session tomorrow, the Jays will have a better idea of when Guerrero can get back to game action.  With over two weeks to go until Opening Day, it doesn’t yet appear as though Guerrero is in danger of missing any of the regular season, but more will be known once the first baseman is fully ramped up.
  • Orioles outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is day to day with a sore knee.  The injury is a minor setback in what has been a red-hot Spring Training for O’Hearn, as he tries to win a job on Baltimore’s bench.  In other Orioles news, manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski and other media that DL Hall threw “extremely well” during a live batting practice session, and is slated for another live BP on Tuesday.  Hall’s progress in camp has been slowed by lower-back problems and he has yet to pitch in a game, so the southpaw’s only chance of making the Opening Day roster is as a reliever.
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Baltimore Orioles New York Mets Notes San Francisco Giants Toronto Blue Jays DL Hall Ronald Guzman Ryan O'Hearn Starling Marte Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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NL Notes: Marte, Stephenson, Dodgers, Taillon

By Mark Polishuk | February 20, 2023 at 11:05am CDT

Starling Marte underwent core surgery in November, and the outfielder talked with reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) today about the somewhat unexpected nature of that procedure.  Marte ended up requiring surgery on both sides of his groin, providing an unwelcome answer to he’d been bothered by leg and lower-body problems for a big portion of the 2022 season.  Marte played through quad and groin soreness but didn’t go on the injured list until he suffered a fractured finger in September, sidelining him until the playoffs.

Despite all the injuries, Marte’s first Mets season was a success, as he hit .292/.347/.468 with 16 homers over 505 plate appearances.  Both Marte and manager Buck Showalter indicated that the veteran outfielder will be ramped up somewhat slowly in the early days of Spring Training, yet Marte is expected to be ready to roll for the Opening Day lineup.

More from around the National League…

  • Pirates reliever Robert Stephenson is suffering from some right arm discomfort, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey tweets.  It seems to be a precautionary slowdown at this point, and Stephenson threw as recently as Saturday.  Heading into his first full season with the Pirates, Stephenson had a 3.38 ERA and a whopping 36% strikeout rate over 13 1/3 innings after the Bucs claimed him off waivers from the Rockies in late August.  Assuming that this arm issue isn’t overly serious, Stephenson is an interesting high-leverage bullpen arm for Pittsburgh, given that he posted good results in 2019 (with Cincinnati) and 2021 (with Colorado).
  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters that J.D. Martinez will be the club’s designated hitter “99.9 percent of the time,” though Martinez isn’t necessarily expected to play all 162 games.  This plan differs from the Dodgers’ rotational use of the DH spot last season, and in particular, Will Smith will be slated for more full rest days with Martinez on board, as Los Angeles often used Smith at DH on days when he wasn’t catching.  As productive a bat as Smith has been, he might be even better with a bit more rest, and ideally Martinez’s offense would further enhance the Dodgers’ lineup punch.
  • Jameson Taillon is on a new team and he is now learning a new pitch, as the Cubs right-hander has started to work on a sweeping slider.  As Taillon tells The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, he was one of the relatively few Yankees pitchers who didn’t use the “whirly,” as his 2020-21 offseason was spent recovering from Tommy John surgery and adjusting after being traded from the Pirates, and Taillon’s 2021-22 offseason work was hampered by the lockout and recovery from ankle surgery.  “This year, healthy offseason, I signed on the earlier end, got familiar with the pitching coaches and I’m comfortable with my delivery.  So I feel like it’s the perfect storm for being able to tinker a little bit,” Taillon said.  The righty inked a four-year, $68MM free agent deal with Chicago in early December.
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