Right-hander Yunior Marté, who was designated for assignment by the Reds earlier this week, has cleared waivers. He has informed the club he will exercise his right to elect free agency. Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie’s Chalkboard passed along the update.
Marté, 31, signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in the offseason. He just got a very brief look in the majors. He was selected to the roster on Friday and appeared in that night’s game, allowing four earned runs in a third of an inning. He was designated for assignment on Monday.
Though Marté’s performance didn’t help, the quick hook was likely related to the club’s roster situation. Both Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson hit the injured list in quick succession recently. Chase Burns had a start pushed back due to illness, forcing the club to improvise a bullpen game. As the Reds have tried to dance around those situations, Marté, Lyon Richardson and Brandon Leibrandt all got added to the roster but then designated for assignment after one appearance.
Prior to getting called up, Marté was with Triple-A Louisville. In 19 1/3 innings for that club, he allowed 5.12 earned runs per nine. That’s obviously not a good number but there was some more intrigue under the hood, as his .377 batting average on balls in play and 66% strand rate were both unfortunate numbers. His 12.6% walk rate was too high but he was striking out 27.4% of batters faced and inducing grounders on 50% of balls in play.
In situations like this, it’s common for the player to return to his previous club on a new deal. Perhaps Marté will re-sign with the Reds in the coming days but he’ll have a chance to explore other opportunities. He has a 5.94 ERA in 113 2/3 major league innings with the Giants, Phillies and now Reds. He spent last year in Japan, posting a 1.95 ERA for the Chunichi Dragons, though with a lot of help from a .213 BABIP. His four-seamer and sinker average in the upper-90s. His main secondary pitch is a mid-80s slider.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images
