Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Steven Okert

Marlins’ Bullpen Generating Trade Interest

By | at

Just as Detroit will be receiving interest in a huge chunk of its bullpen, Miami figures to have several relievers on the block. Longtime Marlins beat writer Joe Frisaro tweets that the Fish have gotten interest on lefties Tanner Scott and Steven Okert as well as right-handers Dylan Floro and Anthony Bass.

The 28-year-old Scott surely has the highest price tag, as he’s leading the club with 14 saves and has long tantalized scouts with a blistering fastball and power slider, dating back to his time in Baltimore. He’s averaged 96.8 mph on that heater this season and ramped up the usage of his slider to a career-high 66%. The result is a career-best 31.8% strikeout rate, a huge 15.3% swinging-strike rate and a 31.3% chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone.

Scott’s command — or lack thereof — is the elephant in the room. The southpaw has walked 15.3% of his opponents this season, plunked three hitters and tossed a pair of wild pitches. That’s been par for the course throughout Scott’s career, evidenced by a bloated 14% walk rate. Were Scott’s command even average or just slightly below-average, his overpowering fastball/slider blend could make him one of the sport’s most dominant relievers. That hasn’t been the case, however, which is surely why the Marlins were able to acquire both Scott and Cole Sulser from the Orioles this past offseason in exchange for a Competitive Balance draft pick (Round B) and a pair of low-level minor leaguers.

It was still a surprising return for a player with Scott’s stuff, particularly given that he’s controlled through the 2024 season. That remaining control will obviously appeal to clubs but also make the asking price on him fairly steep. The Marlins are known to be looking for immediate offensive upgrades in trade returns, and Scott’s two-plus seasons of control could embolden them to do so when teams call about the power-armed lefty.

Okert, meanwhile, has been a great find for the Fish. The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal after spending nine years in the Giants organization and never establishing himself in their bullpen. He’s been great in Miami dating back to 2021 however, working to a combined 2.74 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate  and 10.9% walk rate. Okert doesn’t have Scott’s power stuff and has also been homer-prone, but the late nature of his breakout means he can be controlled another five seasons.

Both Floro and Bass are closer to free agency and, as such, seem likelier to change hands. The 31-year-old Floro is earning $3MM this season and has pitched to a 3.49 ERA with a below-average 17.7% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates (5.3% and 50%, respectively). He’s excelled at keeping the ball in the yard throughout his career with the Rays, Cubs, Dodgers and now Marlins, yielding just 0.5 homers per nine frames.

Floro isn’t without red flags, though. He’s never been an especially hard thrower but has seen his average heater drop from 93.8 mph in 2021 to 91.8 mph in 2022. And after posting one of the lowest hard-hit rates in the Majors from 2016-21 (31.5%), he’s yielded a 41.4% hard-hit rate this season along with a career-high 88.7 mph average exit velocity (the latter of which is right in line with the league average, to be fair).

Of the whole group, Bass seems the best bet to go. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $5MM contract with Miami prior to the 2021 season and posted a solid but unremarkable 3.82 ERA through 61 1/3 innings in his first season in South Florida. This year, however, Bass is toting a pristine 1.41 ERA with a career-high 26% strikeout rate and a very strong 5.8% walk rate. Like Scott, he’s throwing his slider at a career-high rate (56%) and has enjoyed terrific results thanks to the change.

Bass is also controlled for the 2023 season by virtue of an eminently reasonable $3MM club option. That could be good reason for the Marlins to hang onto him, as they’re intent on competing in the near future, but there’s some risk in hanging onto a reliever for what would be his age-35 season as well.

Any of the relievers here could make sense as trade candidates on their own, but it’s also intriguing to think about the possibility of them being packaged as part of a larger deal. Pairing any of the four together would be appealing for a contender seeking bullpen help (which applies to pretty much every contender), and the Marlins could also add a bullpen arm to a package if they’re trying to coax out an even bigger return for a pitcher such as Pablo Lopez, on whom they’re reportedly at least listening to offers.

Marlins Open To Trade Offers On Pablo Lopez, Looking To Upgrade Offense

By | at

The Marlins have stumbled out of the All-Star Break, dropping three of their first five contests against below-.500 teams in the Rangers, Pirates and Reds. Paired with a three-game sweep at the hands of the division-rival Phillies to close out the season’s unofficial first half, Miami has dropped six of eight before tonight’s contest with Cincinnati.

Sitting 45-51 and 5 1/2 games out of the National League’s final Wild Card spot, the Marlins look increasingly unlikely to compete for a postseason berth. That’s particularly true with the news that the club’s best position player, Jazz Chisholm Jr., won’t return until September at the earliest due to a stress fracture in his back. In the face of those mounting odds, general manager Kim Ng and her staff are apparently willing to consider dealing notable players from the major league roster.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted this afternoon that the Fish are willing to listen to offers on everyone other than ace Sandy Alcantara. It’s hard to imagine Miami trading Chisholm since he’s controllable through 2026 and currently on the injured list, but it seems the bulk of the team could be available. Aside from Alcantara and Chisholm, perhaps no one else on the roster would draw more interest than starter Pablo López. While Miami hasn’t previously shown much appetite for dealing López, Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald report that the Marlins are now willing to hear offers on the 26-year-old righty. According to Jackson and Mish, the Fish aren’t actively shopping López, but they’re “no longer dismissing calls” from interested teams.

Assuming Ng and her staff are willing to seriously consider offers on López, he’d be one of the top options available for rotation-needy clubs. After missing most of the second half of last season due to a shoulder injury, he’s stayed healthy this year to take 20 starts. López owns a 3.03 ERA with an above-average 25.5% strikeout rate, a stingy 7.6% walk percentage and a solid 47.4% ground-ball rate. It’s the continuation of a few excellent years for the Venezuelan-born hurler, who has posted a sub-4.00 ERA with better than average strikeout and walk rates in each of the past three seasons.

López is only in his first season of arbitration-eligibility. He’s making an affordable $2.45MM salary, around $974K of which is still to be paid before the end of the season. That’s affordable enough for every club, and López comes with an additional two seasons of control before he can hit free agency after the 2024 campaign. He’s both cheaper and under a longer window of control than any of Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle or Frankie Montas — the three hurlers who have generally been viewed as the top rotation trade candidates on the market.

There’s no need for Ng and her front office to force a deal given that extended window of club control, but they could view this as an opportunity to move him at the peak of his trade value. The Herald writes that the Marlins have not engaged López’s representatives at Excel Sports Management about a possible extension. Miami also has a fair bit of rotation depth and is looking for opportunities to invigorate an offense that carried a meager .238/.302/.376 line into play tonight.

Jackson and Mish write that the Marlins would like to add a left-handed power hitter for the 2023 lineup. Whether that’d come directly in a López deal is unclear — it’s rare for contenders to trade off their big league roster to address another area — but an openness to dealing away one of their top arms while searching for ways to add a controllable hitter suggests Ng and her staff aren’t approaching the deadline as a strict “buyer” or “seller.” Rather, it seems they’ll be one of a handful of teams — the Red Sox, Rangers, Angels and Orioles could be others — approaching the deadline more flexibly, recognizing that competing in 2022 is a longshot while still searching for ways to preemptively add to next year’s roster.

Of course, the rotation depth that could make the Marlins more amenable to parting with López has also been hit hard by injuries. Former top prospect Sixto Sánchez hasn’t thrown a major league pitch in two years. Jesús Luzardo and Edward Cabrera have been on the injured list for months, and rookie Max Meyer joined them over the weekend after leaving the second start of his MLB career with elbow discomfort.

In a worrisome development, Jackson and Mish report that Tommy John surgery could be on the table for Meyer. The team is still awaiting the results of a recent MRI before determining whether surgery will be required, but a UCL reconstruction would likely cost him all of the 2023 season. Miami is certainly hoping the electric 23-year-old will be able to avoid that fate; the club figures to provide an update on the righty’s status in the coming days.

Whether Meyer eventually goes under the knife or not, the injury serves as a reminder that even teams with a seeming surplus of starting pitching can see that depth thinned out rather quickly. Indeed, Miami’s rotation has largely been propelled by excellent seasons from Alcantara and López. 2021 breakout southpaw Trevor Rogers has had a disappointing follow-up campaign, and the back of the rotation has been hit by the aforementioned injuries along with a woeful showing from Elieser Hernández, who found himself demoted to the bullpen.

If Miami follows through on dealing some veterans, López wouldn’t be the only player on the roster to attract interest. MLBTR examined a few of the club’s other possible trade candidates last week. First baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper has a season and a half of remaining control and is hitting .279/.347/.426 on the year. He landed on the 10-day injured list due to a right wrist contusion this afternoon, but he indicated he expects to return when first eligible on August 3 (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). He won’t play again before next Tuesday’s trade deadline, but injured players are able to be dealt, and it stands to reason other clubs will look past the injury if Cooper’s likely to return next week.

Brian Anderson and Jon Berti each looked like potential trade candidates, but they’re on the IL themselves. Anderson suffered a shoulder injury over the weekend, while Berti has yet to begin a rehab assignment after hurting his groin a little less than two weeks ago. They seem less likely than Cooper to be dealt given their longer-term recovery timelines.

Miami also has a handful of veteran relievers who could change hands. Right-hander Anthony Bass is controllable next season via $3MM club option, but he should draw interest with a 1.51 ERA through 41 2/3 innings on the year. Southpaws Steven Okert and Tanner Scott have missed plenty of bats and are controllable for multiple seasons beyond 2022, although each has struggled with his control. Richard Bleier is a more stable ground-ball specialist from the left side, while Dylan Floro is a righty with a broadly similar profile as Bleier.

Pre-Break Sweep Raises Questions About Marlins’ Deadline Outlook

By | at

With the trade deadline two weeks away, a good portion of the league has a general idea of how they plan to approach things. 16 teams either occupy or are within two games of a playoff spot. Barring a massive losing streak coming out of the All-Star Break, those clubs figure to explore ways to improve the 2022 roster. 11 more teams are six or more games out of the playoff race, and with the exception of the Rangers, they’ve all been outscored by 30+ runs on the year. How aggressively they’ll sell will vary, but there’s little reason for those teams to not at least explore the possibility of dealing some impending free agents.

That leaves three teams in a somewhat nebulous middle ground. The Orioles and White Sox each sit 3 1/2 back in the AL Wild Card standings, while Chicago is three out in the division race. MLBTR examined the Orioles’ deadline dilemma last week, while the White Sox seem likely to stay the course and hope for better second halves from some key players. The final team between two and six games out is the Marlins, whose deadline approach figures to be tied quite heavily to how they perform in the first week out of the break.

Miami was within 2 1/2 games of a playoff spot as recently as last Friday. A weekend sweep at the hands of the Phillies, who moved into a tie for the NL’s third Wild Card spot in the process, dropped the Fish to 43-48 and 5 1/2 out. It was a brutal three games that dealt a real hit in the standings — the club’s playoff probability fell from 7.6% to 2.7% over the weekend, according to FanGraphs’ estimates — but the Marlins will have an opportunity to salvage their postseason hopes before the August 2 trade deadline. Miami kicks off the unofficial second half with a standalone game against Texas before hosting Pittsburgh (three games) and going to Cincinnati (four games). If the Marlins can take six of those eight contests, they’d be back around .500 heading into their pre-deadline series against the NL East-leading Mets. Going 4-4 or even 5-3 over those relatively soft first two series probably wouldn’t be enough to deter general manager Kim Ng and her group from dealing some near-term talent.

Another full teardown seems unlikely. Earlier this month, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wrote that Miami owner Bruce Sherman didn’t want to orchestrate a deadline sell-off “barring a collapse” from the team. Exactly what constitutes a “collapse” in Sherman’s and Ng’s eyes obviously isn’t clear, but it seems unlikely one sweep would cause Miami to totally reevaluate whether they want to move a controllable star like Pablo López. Yet even if Miami isn’t willing to part with their most valuable trade pieces this summer, they could make a few decent role playing types available.

Who might be attainable if the Marlins do decide to sell?

Garrett Cooper, 1B/DH

Cooper has been frequently mentioned as a trade candidate on MLBTR’s pages over the past couple years. The 31-year-old is a consistently good hitter when healthy, but he’d missed notable time each season from 2018-21. Cooper has avoided the injured list this season (aside from a very brief stint for virus symptoms) and played his way to an All-Star Game for the first time. He owns a .283/.349/.434 line with seven home runs and 21 doubles through 327 plate appearances. Throughout his career, he’s shown a knack for running strong batting averages on balls in play. He makes a lot of hard contact, hits plenty of line drives and generally uses the whole field to hit for gap power, even as he’s never hit more than 15 homers in a season.

Miami has resisted trading Cooper to this point, but he’s down to his final season and a half of club control. He’s only making $2.5MM this year, but that’s likely to jump to the $5MM range for his final season of arbitration eligibility. That’s certainly not onerous but the Marlins annually run a bottom ten payroll and this could be the best chance to recoup decent prospect value while Cooper’s healthy. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote this month that the Dodgers could have interest.

Jon Berti, INF/OF

Berti’s a versatile speedster who’s having a career-best season. He’s hitting .271/.365/.375 with a pair of home runs and an excellent 12.2% walk rate across 222 plate appearances. That plate discipline has allowed Berti to reach base quite frequently, and he’s wrecked havoc once there. He has swiped 28 bases on the year, six more than anyone else in MLB despite only playing in around 64% of the team’s games. Berti’s slash-and-dash approach is rare, but he’s making it work and had earned a role at the top of the Miami lineup before going on the 10-day injured list late last week with a mild left groin strain.

The team hasn’t provided a timetable on his return, and perhaps the injury will rule him out as a trade candidate. If it’s minor enough he returns before the deadline and looks no worse for wear as a runner, though, it stands to reason he’ll draw interest from contenders. In addition to his baserunning acumen, he’s started multiple games at each of third base, second base, shortstop, and in left field this year. Miami can control him through 2025, so they don’t have to make a deal even if they move some other players, but he’s already 32 years old and having perhaps a career season. This’ll probably be the apex of his trade value, particularly since this year’s infield market is very thin.

Brian Anderson, 3B/COF

It’s unlikely the Marlins deal both Berti and Anderson, but they may have enough infield depth to feel comfortable parting with one of the two. Miami acquired Joey Wendle from the Rays over the winter, intending to supplant Anderson at third base after he underperformed in 2021. Wendle has been solid when healthy but missed a notable stretch between May and June with hamstring troubles. That afforded Anderson more playing time at the hot corner than anticipated, and he’s bounced back with a solid .262/.358/.393 showing across 193 plate appearances.

Anderson, 29, is controllable through the end of next season via arbitration. He’s already making $4.475MM this year and will earn a bit of a bump during his final season of arb-eligibility. As with Cooper, it’s possible Miami sees this as an opportunity to bring in some young talent while reallocating the projected 2023 salary elsewhere. Anderson is a good player, a well-rounded everyday third baseman. Yet Miami already has Wendle and Berti as options at the position, and they signed Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler to multi-year deals over the winter to plug the corner outfield. It’s a deep collection of corner players that might squeeze Anderson out of the mix.

Elieser Hernández, RHP

Hernández would be more of a change-of-scenery candidate than a solution for a contender. Throughout his big league tenure, he’s shown a strong combination of strikeouts and walks but given up far too many home runs. He’s taken that to a particular extreme in 2022, serving up a staggering 18 longballs in 53 innings (3.06 HR/9). That’s far and away a career-worst mark for a pitcher who was already one of the league’s most homer-prone arms. Unsurprisingly, Hernández has an ERA above 6.00 and lost his spot in the rotation in May.

Perhaps the home run troubles are so pronounced there won’t be much interest. Hernández hasn’t been able to keep the ball in the yard even in one of the game’s more spacious home parks. Still, we’ve seen teams place bets on pitchers like Andrew Heaney and Yusei Kikuchi over the years, valuing strikeout stuff and betting that tweaks to a pitcher’s repertoire and/or simple home run rate regression will even things out. Perhaps some team feels the same way about Hernández and will look to buy-low on a pitcher making just $1.325MM and arb-eligible through 2024.

Anthony Bass/Steven Okert/Dylan Floro, RP

Miami has a handful of capable if unexciting middle relief arms who should draw some attention from contenders. Bass, 34, is a prototypical journeyman but has posted an ERA below 4.00 in each of the past five seasons. He throws in the mid-90s, pounds the strike zone and misses bats at a slightly above-average rate. He’s making $3MM this year and has a matching club option for 2023.

Okert isn’t yet arbitration-eligible, while Floro is making $3MM and arb-eligible for one more season. A former minor league signee, Okert is a 31-year-old southpaw who has posted swinging strike rates north of 13% in each of the last two years. He’s fanned nearly 30% of batters faced as a result, and he’s handled hitters from both sides of the plate. Okert struggles with walks and home runs, but a southpaw who misses bats is always likely to attract some amount of interest. Floro is essentially the polar opposite. The 31-year-old righty doesn’t throw hard or generate many whiffs, but he’s a volume strike-thrower who consistently induces grounders at a strong clip.

Longer shot possibilities

Ng and her staff could also try to find a taker for first baseman Jesús Aguilar, who is set to hit free agency at the end of the year (assuming the team declines its end of a 2023 mutual option). Interest figures to be modest for a defensively-limited player who’s hitting just .252/.299/.401 while making $7.5MM, however. It’s possible they could flip Wendle or catcher Jacob Stallings, but Miami acquired both over the winter to upgrade the lineup. With each controllable for at least another season (and Stallings having a down year), that seems unlikely.

Coming out of the All-Star Break, the team will try to play its way out of any sort of sell-off. They’ll have a stretch of below .500 teams to start off, giving them an opportunity to get back into the playoff periphery. Getting swept heading into the break digs them a significant hole, though, and the Miami front office figures to field a number of calls on their veteran complementary players with dwindling windows of control.

Latest On Marlins’ Deadline Plans

By | at

The Marlins, owners of a 34-40 record, have plenty of baseball to play before committing as a buyer or seller at the August 2nd Trade Deadline. Given that record however, Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald spoke with Miami GM Kim Ng about the club’s upcoming plans given their likely status as deadline sellers.

Ng, like most front office members in June, didn’t throw the towel in on the season, but admitted the team will need to close the gap in the NL East (13 games back of the Mets) or Wild Card race (7 games back of the Cardinals) if her club is to pursue veteran additions at the deadline: “[Y]ou want to be within striking distance. I hope we get there. The club is playing a lot better this month than they were last month. We’re getting healthier.” 

Ng also added that the club will be ready to increase its payroll in the right scenario: “If we feel that we’re within that striking distance, I think [owner Bruce Sherman] will continue to be supportive.” That striking distance won’t be easy to obtain, of course, as two competitive clubs in the Giants and Phillies are currently blocking Miami from even sniffing the Wild Card spots held by the Padres, Braves, and Cardinals.

Should the club end up selling in a month’s time, Mish and Jackson speculate that the team has a few bullpen arms that will be in high demand. The most likely candidates include Anthony Bass (1.74 ERA in 31 innings) and lefty Steven Okert (2.28 ERA in 23 plus innings), two relievers in their thirties with club control that extends beyond this season. Given the club’s crop of pitching on the farm and several other arms of note already in the bullpen, either veteran reliever figures to be expendable if it helps strengthen the club next season.

Interestingly, Mish and Jackson cite the back of the bullpen as an area to improve via trade if the club heats up in the next month. As buyers the club also figures to target “a high-end center fielder,” per the report, though center field will likely be an area to watch even if the team is selling, thanks to the underperformance and misalignment of the team’s current outfield unit. Center field has been an area of focus for Miami dating back to the offseason, but they’ve yet to find a sufficient everyday solution and have instead regularly trotted out a carousel of miscast corner bats.

The Marlins currently hold a 3.9% chance of making the playoffs in the eyes of FanGraphs, but plenty of time remains for the club to turn into bullpen buyers over Steven Okert sellers. Turnarounds from 2021 All-Star Trevor Rogers plus offseason acquisitions Avisail Garcia and Jacob Stallings could go a long way in bolstering a club that is otherwise receiving sneakily elite production atop its rotation and throughout its lineup.

Marlins To Select Steven Okert

By | at

The Marlins are selecting the contract of reliever Steven Okert, general manager Kim Ng told reporters (including Craig Mish of SportsGrid). The club has vacancies on both the active and 40-man rosters following today’s trade of Corey Dickerson and Adam Cimber to the Blue Jays.

When he takes the mound, Okert will be making his first major league appearance in three years. The left-hander pitched for the Giants between 2016-18, tossing 48 1/3 innings of 4.28 ERA/4.01 SIERA ball. San Francisco outrighted him off the 40-man roster just before the start of the 2019 season, though, and he spent the entire year at Triple-A Sacramento. Okert elected minor league free agency after 2019 but didn’t sign anywhere during last year’s COVID-19 impacted campaign.

Okert returned to affiliated ball on a minors deal with the Marlins in February. He’s earned his way back to the highest level with a stellar 20 innings at Triple-A Jacksonville. The 29-year-old has pitched to a pristine 1.80 ERA with the Jumbo Shrimp, striking out an elite 38.2% of batters faced while walking a minuscule 5.3% of opponents.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/28/21

By | at

The latest minor transactions around the game:

  • The Blue Jays activated infielder Breyvic Valera from the restricted list, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to note. Valera has been out of action since last July, when he reportedly had difficulty leaving his home country of Venezuela. The 29-year-old is now back in camp, where he’ll compete with Santiago Espinal and non-roster invitee Joe Panik for a utility infield job. Valera is out of options, so he’ll need to make the team out of camp or be exposed to other clubs. His activation puts Toronto’s 40-man roster at full capacity.
  • The Padres announced the signing of Patrick Kivlehan to a minor-league contract. The deal contains an invitation to big league spring training. Now 31 years old, Kivlehan picked up 242 MLB plate appearances between 2016-18, seeing action with the Padres, Reds and Diamondbacks. He managed only a .208/.302/.401 line in that time, but he’s generally been a strong hitter in the high minors and has plenty of pro experience in both the corner infield and corner outfield. Kivlehan spent last season at the Blue Jays’ alternate training site.
  • The Marlins are signing lefty reliever Steven Okert to a minor-league deal, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The deal does not come with a major league spring training invite, so he’s presumably ticketed for Triple-A Jacksonville to begin the season. Okert earned MLB time with the Giants every year from 2016-18. The 29-year-old has tossed 48.1 innings of 4.28 ERA/4.01 SIERA ball over 70 appearances at the big league level.

Outrighted: Duensing, Wilkerson, Okert

By | at

With the recent slew of players being designated for assignment, several have cleared waivers. We’ll keep track of today’s outrighted players here…

  • The Cubs announced that lefty Brian Duensing has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa. He has enough service time to reject the assignment and still retain the entirety of this year’s $3.5MM salary, but there’s no indication yet whether he’ll choose to do so. The 36-year-old Duensing had a strong year with the 2017 Cubs but was clobbered for a 7.65 ERA in 37 2/3 innings last season after signing a two-year, $7MM contract to remain in Chicago. His second season with the Cubs saw him walk more batters (29) than he struck out (24), and his struggles continued into Spring Training, where he yielded eight runs in seven innings of work.
  • Infielder Stevie Wilkerson was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers, per an announcement from the Orioles. The 27-year-old made his big league debut a year ago and hit .174/.224/.239 in 49 trips to the plate with the O’s. The versatile Wilkerson has experience at every position other than catcher and center field. He’s a career .266/.342/.368 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons.
  • The Giants announced Thursday that left-handed reliever Steven Okert has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento after clearing waivers. Okert, 27, has spent time in the Giants’ bullpen in each of the past three seasons and compiled a career 4.28 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings as a Major League reliever. He’ll remain with the organization as a depth option should the club need to call upon some additional left-handed bullpen help at some point in the 2019 season.

Giants Acquire Michael Reed From Twins

By | at

Per Dan Hayes of the Athletic, the Giants have acquired OF Michael Reed from Minnesota for OF John Andreoli and cash. Per Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News, lefty Steven Okert was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man.

Reed, 26, was in camp with the Twins after an outstanding AAA performance in the Atlanta system last year. A career .269/.382/.395 hitter in the minors, Reed took it up a notch last season, slashing a ridiculous .363/.459/.539 in 229 plate appearances for AAA-Gwinnett.  Scouts were never too bullish on the longtime Brewer – his highest ever rank in the Milwaukee system per Baseball America was 14th, following the 2014 season – but the recent performance has been too enticing to ignore.

Incredibly, Reed may slot in as the San Francisco’s top projected outfielder for the upcoming season – Steamer, at least, seems to agree. The Giants may not, but the righty-swinging Reed should see plenty of time at each outfield position in ’19, which he may well begin by serving as the weak-side platoon option in center field for lefty Steven Duggar.

Andreoli, 28, was brought in with a host of others to compete for a spot in the wide-open SF outfield, though his minor-league track record doesn’t glow nearly as brightly as Reed’s. The righty did put up an impressive .397 OBP at the AAA level last season, albeit in the much more hitter-friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League.

Okert, 27, has been decent in limited action for the Giants over the last three seasons, and had a banner (3.30 FIP, 12.22 K/9 vs. 2.27 BB/9) AAA season in 2018. Righties have always given the southpaw trouble, but he should have no issue latching on with a new franchise in the coming days.

Giants Notes: Samardzija, Upcoming Roster Decisions

By | at

The Giants announced on Wednesday that right-hander Jeff Samardzija has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to tightness in his right shoulder. Right-hander Tyler Beede is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his spot on the roster for the time being, though the organization’s current hope is that Samardzija will only miss one start, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. An MRI revealed some inflammation in Samardzija’s shoulder, per Schulman, but there’s no structural damage. With so many injuries in their rotation, the Giants briefly had all three starters listed as “TBA” this weekend, though they’ve since said that Chris Stratton and Andrew Suarez will start the first two games of the series, while a determination on Sunday’s starter has seemingly yet to be made. Schulman notes that the club had been planning to move lefty Ty Blach to the bullpen, but he’s now a candidate to start in Samardzija’s place on Sunday, as is rookie Dereck Rodriguez.

A bit more out of San Francisco, where there are several roster decisions looming on the horizon…

  • With Joe Panik, Alen Hanson and Mark Melancon all likely to return from the DL this weekend, and Madison Bumgarner likely to be activated next Tuesday, and two of them (Melancon and Bumgarner) will require corresponding 40-man moves. Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News runs through some possibilities for the roster over the next six days, listing Steven Okert, Roberto Gomez and Jose Valdez as candidates to be designated for assignment in order to clear 40-man spots for Melancon and Bumgarner.
  • More complicated, Crowley notes, is the impending return of Hunter Pence from the 10-day DL. Manager Bruce Bochy implied that Pence will return to the 25-man roster when his rehab window expires this weekend, though his exact role looks uncertain. Andrew McCutchen is the team’s regular right fielder, and the Giants have said that Mac Williamson will be given an everyday opportunity in left field. Pence, of course, can’t play center field, so he appears headed for a limited role. Crowley suggests that either Austin Jackson or Gregor Blanco could land on the disabled list as a temporary fix, though it stands to reason that if Williamson proves adept in left field, the Giants could eventually have a more difficult decision on their hands.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top