Miami Marlins detailed transactions

The Miami Marlins have been pretty busy today. Multiple players moved from the team and to the team. Let’s look at each of these moves in a more detailed way. Before we do that though, check out part 1 and part 2 of our look at the top 20 free agents this off-season. Without further ado, here’s what happened on this busy day for The Fish…

The Miami Marlins did a lot of transactions today.

Two prospects are leaving the Miami Marlins, having been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays: RHP Marcus Johnson and 17 year old SP Santiago Suarez. Suarez only made 11 starts in his entire professional career with a 2.31 ERA. He did this in the Dominican Summer League. He’s very far off from the Majors and hopefully for us, won’t suddenly turn into a top prospect with the Tampa Bay Rays. Johnson is a fourth round pick from this year, who hits 95 MPH with his fastball.

What’s our return? RP JT Chargois and Minor League SS Xavier Edwards. Chargois is already 31, but has been pretty solid lately. He debuted in 2016 with the Minnesota Twins, producing a 4.70 ERA/3.36 FIP in 23.0 innings. He then missed time due to injury until 2018, when he produced a 3.34 ERA/3.87 FIP in 32.1 innings with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His LA tenure ended after a dismal 2019 season: 6.33 ERA/4.01 FIP in 21.1 innings.

He missed time again, but was back in 2021, this time splitting time between the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay. He had a 2.52 ERA/3.86 FIP in 53.2 innings. In 2022, he had a 2.42 ERA/4.28 FIP in 22.1 innings. He should be a solid middle reliever as long as he’s healthy. Edwards is a switch hitter with elite speed and was a top 100 prospect  in the Majors in 2019-2020. He was also top 10 in Tampa’s farm this season. I have high hopes for him.

The Miami Marlins designated five players for assignment… RP Nick Neidert has never done much for us producing a 5.40 ERA/4.51 FIP in 2020; 4.54 ERA/5.81 FIP in 2021; and 3.60 ERA/4.51 FIP in 2022. RP Jeff Brigham produced a 6.06 ERA/6.04 FIP in 2018; 4.46 ERA/5.07 FIP in 2019; 9.00 ERA/3.19 FIP in 2020 and after missing 2021, a 3.38 ERA/3.65 FIP in 2022. He’s already 30 and isn’t reliable.

Minor League 2B Jose Devers might’ve been dumped too early, but he hit .244/.304/.317 in 21 games and 41 AB in 2022 in the Majors. The big stories are spot starter Elieser Hernandez and 1B Lewin Diaz. Eliezer’s marks:

2018: 5.21 ERA/5.29 FIP in 65.2 innings.

2019: 5.03 ERA/5.58 FIP in 82.1 innings.

2020: 3.16 ERA/3.89 FIP in 25.2 innings.

2021: 4.18 ERA/5.38 FIP in 51.2 innings.

2022: 6.35 ERA/6.40 FIP in 62.1 innings.

He was clearly expendable and not worth a rising salary in arbitration.

Lewin Diaz was once a top prospect, but just couldn’t hit. In 2020, he batted .154/.195/.205 in 39 AB; in 2021 he batted .205/.242/.451 in 122 AB; and in 2022 he batted .169/.224/.288 in 160 AB. At 25 years old, it didn’t look like there was anything there anymore.