December Recap: How Have the Miami Marlins Changed?

On December 9th, Tyler Kinley was placed on waivers by the Marlins, and the Colorado Rockies swooped in to snatch him up.

Although not a corresponding move, exactly, Miami signed infielder and New York Yankees alum Gosuke Katoh to a minor league deal, also issuing the Poway, CA native an invitation to Spring Training.

Kinley was a relatively solid part of the Marlins bullpen in 2019, and ranked sixth on the club in pitcher WAR, at 0.8. He was 3-1 with a 3.65 ERA over 52 appearances, with a 1.601 WHIP.

Initially drafted as a 16th rounder in 2013, Kinley worked his way up through the Marlins system to the Triple-A level in 2016, with the New Orleans Zephyrs. After he posted a 2.92 ERA in 40 games in 2017 with the Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Minnesota Twins chose him in the rule 5 draft.

But after a 24.30 ERA over 3 1/3 innings of work, the Twins returned Kinley to the Marlins. Although he proved he wasn’t quite ready for the majors in 2018, he showed this past season that he does belong.

Katoh was a second rounder for the Yankees in the same draft, and has spent the past seven seasons in their minor league affiliate feeder system. In 649 contests, the six-foot-three infielder has racked up a .251/.354/.374 line, with 38 homers and 242 RBI. He’s also stolen 80 bases in 113 attempts, but his projections remain somewhat unknown. It’s possible he doesn’t make the cut in Spring Training, but its really anybody’s ballgame, so to speak.