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Yunior Marte

Reds, Yunior Marte Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds are in agreement with reliever Yunior Marte on a minor league contract with an invite to big league Spring Training, reports Francys Romero. The righty would lock in a $1.05MM base salary if he breaks camp.

Marte is back in affiliated ball after spending the 2025 season in Japan. The Dominican-born hurler signed with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons last winter. He divided his time between the top level and their minor league club. Marte managed a 1.95 earned run average with a pair of saves and 11 holds over 32 1/3 innings for the NPB team. That came with a modest 19.1% strikeout rate and was heavily reliant on a .213 average on balls in play against him.

The 30-year-old (31 in February) pitched in the big leagues each year from 2022-24. Marte made 39 appearances for the Giants as a rookie and spent the next two seasons as an up-and-down middle reliever for the Phillies. He has a big arm, sitting in the 96-98 MPH range with his sinker. Marte missed a decent number of bats in the minors but has a below-average 20.1% strikeout percentage over 102 big league appearances. He owns a 5.64 ERA in 113 1/3 career frames.

Cincinnati has a solid late-inning group led by re-signed closer Emilio Pagán, Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft, Connor Phillips and Caleb Ferguson. They have a few openings in the middle innings and don’t have a ton of minor league depth. Tejay Antone is their only other currently healthy non-roster invitee who has MLB experience, though they’ll presumably try to get Keegan Thompson through waivers after he was designated for assignment last week.

Yunior Marté Signs With NPB’s Chunichi Dragons

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Right-hander Yunior Marté has signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to multiple reports out of Japan, including from Chunichi. He had signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in November but the Dragons paid the M’s a release fee, per Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Romero also reports that Marte will make $1.25MM this year and could add another $200K via incentives.

Marté, 30, pitched for the Giants and Phillies over the past three MLB seasons. He threw 113 1/3 innings over those three campaigns, allowing 5.64 earned runs per nine. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both a bit shy of average but his 47.8% ground ball rate was quite strong.

That included a rough 6.92 ERA with the Phils in 2024, which prompted that club to put Marté on waivers at the end of the year. He passed through unclaimed, elected free agency and signed a minors pact with the Mariners. MLB clubs generally don’t stop players from pursuing opportunities in foreign leagues, so the M’s have let Marté go, collecting a release fee in the process.

Despite the tepid results, Marté has an intriguing arsenal. His four-seamer and sinker have both averaged between 96 and 98 miles per hour in his career. He has also thrown a slider, changeup, cutter and splitter.

Had he stayed in North America, he would have had a challenging path to a notable role. He is out of options and has less than two years of service time. Even if he earned a roster spot at some point, he might not have kept it for long. Even if he did cling to a spot for a while, he has not yet qualified for arbitration and likely would have earned a salary near the $760K league minimum.

By heading overseas, he locks in a higher salary right away and will likely get a longer opportunity to bounce back from a trying season. If he can take a step forward in his new environment, he can try to return to North American ball in the future or perhaps parlay his results into a new contract with the Dragons or another Asian club.

Mariners Sign Yunior Marte To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have signed right-hander Yunior Marte to a minor league deal, according to a report from Francys Romero. Romero adds that the deal comes with an invite to MLB Spring Training.

Marte, 30 in February, signed with the Royals out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut back in 2013. He worked his way up the minor league ladder with Kansas City until he reached minor league free agency following the cancelled MiLB season in 2020, and eventually signed a minors pact with the Giants prior to the 2021 season. The right-hander spent two years in the Giants organization and pitched well at Triple-A despite the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, prompting Marte’s promotion to San Francisco in April of 2022.

In the majors, Marte collected 48 innings with the Giants across 39 appearances. He posted a lackluster 5.44 ERA during that time, though his peripheral numbers (including a 4.38 FIP and 3.80 xERA) were solid enough. He struck out just 20.6% of opponents while walking 10.3%, but helped make up for that by generating poor contact, as evidenced by an impressive 48.6% groundball rate and a microscopic 3.5% barrel rate. That performance was solid enough to earn Marte a spot on the club’s 40-man roster throughout the offseason, but he nonetheless found himself traded to Philadelphia that January in exchange for southpaw Erik Miller.

Philly would serve as Marte’s home in each of the next two seasons, though his struggle to find results at the big league level continued. While Marte impressed with a 1.80 ERA in 20 Triple-A innings in 2023, his time in the majors told a different story as he surrendered a 5.03 ERA with a 4.68 FIP across 39 1/3 frames. While Marte’s strikeout, walk, and grounder rates all improved, opposing hitters began to find more success barrelling him up and that led to a spike in homers, which perhaps isn’t especially surprising given he moved from Oracle Park in San Francisco to the Phillies’ homer-happy home of Citizen Bank Park.

2024 turned out even worse for Marte, as the 29-year-old pitched to a 6.92 ERA with a 5.63 FIP while posting the worst strikeout rate, walk rate, groundball rate, and home run rate of his major league career. The disastrous results even carried over to Triple-A this season, as he surrendered a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings at the level. That led the Phillies to outright Marte off their roster earlier this month, and he subsequently elected free agency. The right-hander has now found a new home in Seattle, and he’ll have the opportunity to try and find his footing in an organization that boasts one of the best pitching staffs in the majors. That strong pitching staff could mean that Marte faces an uphill battle in trying to secure an Opening Day roster spot this spring, and barring him securing that roster spot he’ll likely open the season as non-roster depth for the Mariners in case of an injury.

Phillies Acquire Devin Sweet, Claim John McMillon

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The Phillies announced they acquired reliever Devin Sweet from the Tigers and added him to the 40-man roster. Philadelphia also claimed reliever John McMillon off waivers from the Marlins and selected righty Alan Rangel onto the 40-man. The Phils dropped Kolby Allard, Yunior Marté, Freddy Tarnok, Luis Ortiz and Rodolfo Castro from the roster by running them through outright waivers.

Sweet had not been on Detroit’s 40-man roster. He was set to reach minor league free agency today. While Detroit evidently wasn’t going to select his contract, the Phils were intrigued enough to carry him on the roster. The 28-year-old righty posted big numbers for the Tigers’ top affiliate in Toledo. Sweet struck out almost 34% of Triple-A hitters and posted a 3.91 ERA through 76 innings. He has limited MLB experience, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings between two teams in 2023.

McMillon changes hands via waivers for the second time in a few months. Miami grabbed the 6’3″ righty from Kansas City in early August. McMillon pitched well over 10 appearances for the Fish but ended the year on the injured list with elbow tightness. The Texas Tech product has an earned run average approaching 5.00 over four seasons in the minors. He averages north of 95 MPH on his fastball, so it’s a low-risk flier on a pitcher with a decent arm and two minor league options remaining.

Rangel, 27, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in July. The Mexican-born righty tossed 29 1/3 innings of 4.30 ERA ball in a swing role in Triple-A. He didn’t miss many bats but showed solid control. Rangel, who has yet to make his big league debut, would have been eligible for minor league free agency again this winter.

Of the players coming off the roster, Allard and Marté had the biggest roles this year. The former worked as a depth starter and posted an even 5.00 earned run average through 27 innings. The latter was hit hard to the tune of a 6.92 ERA across 26 frames in a middle relief role. Ortiz made one appearance but missed the majority of the year to ankle and shoulder problems. Castro played in Triple-A, where he tore a thumb ligament in August. Tarnok didn’t pitch in the majors after the Phillies claimed him from the A’s in June.

Phillies Activate Jose Alvarado From Restricted List

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9:27pm: The Phillies have announced that they’ve activated Alvarado in the aftermath of tonight’s game against the Braves. Right-hander Yunior Marte was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move, meaning that Philadelphia will still have to add another pitcher to their staff when rosters expand tomorrow. The club’s 40-man roster is now at capacity.

4:14pm: The Phillies bullpen is set to be reinforced as the calendar flips to September, as left-hander Jose Alvarado told reporters (including Matt Gelb of The Athletic) that he will be activated from the restricted list tomorrow. Alvarado noted that he returned to Venezuela to handle a family matter during his absence from the team. No corresponding moves will be necessary to activate Alvarado, as the club’s 40-man roster currently stands at 39 and rosters will expand from 26 to 28 tomorrow.

Alvarado, 29, is in the midst of a down season this year as he’s posted a pedestrian 4.30 ERA with a 4.17 FIP in 52 1/3 innings of work across 56 appearances this year. Prior to this down season, Alvarado’s career had seemingly been on the upswing as he posted back-to-back dominant seasons with the Phillies where he sported a combined 2.53 ERA with an even more impressive 2.14 FIP and struck out 37.6% of opponents. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 23.3% this year, however, and his groundball rate has similarly suffered. After sitting at an elite 55.1% from 2022-23, the 2024 campaign has seen it dip to a far more middling 45.8% figure.

Disappointing as Alvarado’s season has been across the board, the Phillies are nonetheless surely excited to welcome him back into the fold. After all, the club’s relief corps has fashioned a lackluster 4.57 ERA since the All Star break that’s left them bottom four in the NL over that stretch, and their 4.76 FIP is better than only the lowly Rockies among NL clubs. Even Alvarado’s roughly average numbers from this season would constitute a step forward for the struggling bullpen in Philadelphia, to say nothing of how meaningful a return to form would be for the club as they look to make their third consecutive trip to the NLCS.

Alvarado’s return should be particularly impactful for the club against southpaws. Even amid his lackluster results this year, the lefty has still done quite well against same-handed hitting with a 3.71 ERA and a 3.21 FIP. While his strikeout rate has suffered against hitters from both sides of the plate this year, he still generates grounders as effectively as ever against southpaws with an excellent 55.1% clip against lefty bats this season. That should help to take pressure off the Philly bullpen’s other two lefties, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks, and allow them to be used in more flexible roles by manager Rob Thomson going forward with Alvarado back to face tough pockets of southpaws in the opposing lineup.

Aside from Alvarado’s value as a third lefty for the club’s bullpen, the Phillies are also surely hoping that a return to action over the course of the season’s final month will help Alvarado regain the elite form he flashed the previous two seasons. After all, the lefty is under contract for 2025 with a $9MM team option for the 2026 season, and a return to form next season would likely make exercising that option something of a no-brainer for Philadelphia brass.

Phillies Activate J.T. Realmuto From 10-Day Injured List

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J.T. Realmuto is back in the Phillies’ lineup, as the catcher has been officially activated from the team’s 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Yunior Marte was also called up from Triple-A, and in corresponding moves, catcher Rafael Marchan and right-hander Michael Mercado were optioned to Triple-A.

After undergoing knee surgery on June 12, the expectation was that Realmuto would need roughly a month of recovery time, so he’ll return only slightly beyond that timeline (with the All-Star break also giving him a bit of extra time).  The first-place Phillies have just kept on rolling even with Realmuto out, Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh also having lengthy IL stints, and Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber having minimal 10-day IL absences.

With Realmuto now back, Philadelphia is again operating with all of its first-choice position players, making things even scarier for opposing pitchers.  Realmuto’s contributions to this powerhouse lineup have been fairly modest, as he has hit .261/.309/.411 over 223 plate appearances.

While still quite good for a catcher and above-average (102 wRC+) overall, Realmuto’s 26.9% strikeout rate is on pace to be the highest of his career, and his 5.4% walk rate would be his lowest since 2016 when he was still with the Marlins.  These rates are both well below the league average, though Realmuto is still in the 88th percentile of hard-hit ball rate and he is continuing to barrel the ball, with seven homers thus far this season.  The defense has been a mixed bag, with Realmuto throwing out 29% of baserunners but his blocking and framing work have been subpar.  Even if Realmuto is slowing down a bit in his age-33 season, he is still an overall plus for the Phillies, and he also doesn’t even have to be a top contributor in such a loaded batting order.

Marchan saw his first MLB action since 2021 in Realmuto’s absence, and looked impressive in hitting .294/.345/.549 over 56 plate appearances.  Despite these numbers, Marchan was likely optioned so he can continue to get regular playing time in Triple-A rather than get limited action as Realmuto’s backup, so Garrett Stubbs will continue on the active roster in the backup catcher role.

Phillies Select Tyler Phillips

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The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Phillips. Fellow righty Yunior Marté was optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man, righty Luis Ortiz was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Phillips, 26, has likely been selected to give the club some length out of the bullpen. He has made 15 starts in Triple-A this year, tossing 92 innings, allowing 4.89 earned runs per nine. His 19.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.4% walk rate is fine and he’s been getting grounders at a strong 50.9% clip.

The Philly rotation took a couple of hits recently, with Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull landing on the IL in fairly quick succession. They still have a strong front four consisting of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, but the fifth spot is a bit shakier. Michael Mercado is in that spot for now but he has just six innings of major league experience to this point.

Nola and Suárez are scheduled to go the next two days with Mercado on Sunday. If there’s any need for someone to eat innings, that could perhaps be Phillips, since he’s been stretched out for a starting role in the minors.

If that comes to pass, Phillips will be making his major league debut, though he’s been on a 40-man roster before. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and that club added him to their 40-man roster back in November 2019, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had tossed 131 innings in the minors that year with a 3.71 ERA, getting heaps of ground balls.

The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Phillips struggled in 2021, going to the Phillies on a waiver claim. The Phils passed him through waivers shortly thereafter and the righty needed Tommy John surgery at the end of that season, missing all of 2022. Last year, he had a 4.92 ERA in 122 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

As for Ortiz, he started the year on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain. He started a rehab assignment but that was shut down and manager Rob Thomson said last week that the righty will be having Tommy John surgery on July 11, per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation on X. He’ll miss the remainder of the season and a big portion of 2025 as well.

Spencer Turnbull To Miss Six To Eight Weeks Due To Lat Strain

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The Phillies announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain. Right-hander Yunior Marté was recalled to take his spot on the active roster. Manager Rob Thomson says Turnbull will miss six to eight weeks, per Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer on X.

Turnbull, 31, started yesterday’s game but departed after just three innings due to right shoulder soreness. He told reporters after the game that he didn’t think the issue was too serious and that he hoped to make his next start, with Matt Gelb of The Athletic among those to relay his thoughts on the matter. Despite Turnbull’s optimism, it seems the club has determined the issue is serious enough for him to be on the shelf for a fairly sizeable stretch of time.

For much of the year, Turnbull has been pitching very well out of the bullpen but has been blocked from securing a lengthy stay in the rotation. The Phils have Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez all putting up good numbers this year. The results have been more wobbly from Taijuan Walker but he is an established veteran on a four-year contract, which gave him precedence over Turnbull.

Just a few days ago, Walker landed on the IL due to inflammation in his right index finger, which opened a rotation spot for Turnbull. Unfortunately, in quick succession, Walker’s replacement is now out of action with Turnbull landing on the IL himself.

It’s a shame because, as mentioned, Turnbull’s results have been good overall this year. Over 17 games, including seven starts, he has a 2.65 earned run average. He wasn’t going to maintain a .233 batting average on balls in play or an 84% strand rate forever, but he struck out 26.1% of batters faced, limited walks to a 9% clip and got grounders on 47.5% of balls in play.

The righty had a tough season in 2023, dealing with injuries and posting a 7.26 ERA. He was non-tendered by the Tigers and signed a modest one-year deal with the Phils with a $2MM base salary. Continuing to put up good numbers would have helped him in his return to the open market this coming offseason but this injury will put a dent in that or at least put his bounceback season on pause.

For the Phillies, their crowded rotation has been quickly un-crowded with Walker and Turnbull landing on the IL within days of each other. That will leave them looking for a fifth starter at least until Walker comes back. He has a murky timeline as it depends how his finger progresses in the coming weeks.

Perhaps that rotation spot will go to Michael Mercado, who was starting in the minors up until recently. He was recalled when Walker landed on the IL and has made one relief appearance thus far, but could perhaps return to starting. In 47 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 1.71 ERA, though less impressive peripherals. He has a 22.8% strikeout rate, 11.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate. A .240 BABIP, 83% strand rate and 3.9 home run to fly ball ratio have helped keep the runs off the board.

The other depth options aren’t particularly exciting. Kolby Allard, Freddy Tarnok and Max Castillo are on the 40-man but each has an ERA of 6.14 or higher for the IronPigs this year. Prospect Mick Abel has a 7.08 ERA in Triple-A this year.

If the Phils want to add some rotation depth, there’s still a month to go until the trade deadline. They can monitor the progress of Walker and Turnbull between now and then as they assess the market, but they have lots of wiggle room. They have a 53-27 record that is the best in the majors, putting them eight games ahead of Atlanta in the National League East.

Phillies Select José Ruiz

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The Phillies announced that right-hander Yunior Marté has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. Right-hander José Ruiz was selected to the roster in a corresponding move. The Phils already had a vacancy on the 40-man since they designated Ricardo Pinto for assignment earlier this week.

Ruiz, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the offseason. He’s already tossed 11 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley with a 1.64 earned run average. He has struck out 31% of batters faced so far while walking just 7.1%.

That’s a small sample size, of course, but Ruiz also has some decent work on his major league track record. He tossed more than 60 innings for the White Sox in both 2021 and 2022, with a combined 3.80 ERA in that time. His 10.8% walk rate in that stretch was a tad high but he also punched out batters at a strong 24.4% clip.

Last year wasn’t as successful for the righty. He was lit up in his first four outings for the Sox, allowing nine earned runs, and got designated for assignment. He was flipped to the Diamondbacks and tossed 40 2/3 innings for that club with a middling 4.43 ERA. He was outrighted off their roster at the end of July and spent the last few months of the year at Triple-A Reno, posting a 4.10 ERA in 26 1/3 innings.

He reached free agency at the end of the year, which led to his minor league deal with the Phils. Since he’s been posting good results, he’ll get a chance to come back to the majors and fill in for Marté. Ruiz is out of options and therefore can’t be easily sent back down to the minors later in the year. But he has less than four years of MLB service time, meaning he could be retained beyond this season if he sticks on the roster all year long.

Phillies Outright Drew Ellis

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Sept. 24: Ellis has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, as per the Phillies’ official transactions page.  There isn’t yet any word on whether or not he has accepted the assignment or elected free agency.

Sept. 22: The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Orion Kerkering, a move that was reported on earlier today. In corresponding moves, right-hander Yunior Marté was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley while infielder Drew Ellis was designated for assignment.

Ellis, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Phils in April and was added to the 40-man roster in June. He has since served as an optionable depth piece, playing 12 games in the majors. He drew walks in six of his 29 plate appearances, leading to a strong .217/.379/.478 batting line in that small sample. In 70 Triple-A games this year, he’s slashed .224/.336/.433 for a wRC+ of 92.

The Phils will now place Ellis on waivers in the coming days. He’s hit just .157/295/.269 in his major league career, in just 129 plate appearances. He’s had much stronger results in Triple-A, having hit .247/.364/.500 in 1,124 plate appearances at that level. He’s played each of the non-shortstop infield positions, meaning he could appeal to a club in search of some extra depth on the dirt. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible if claimed now but can be retained for six years beyond the current season. He’s in his final option year and will be out of options next season. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

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