Released by the Orioles last week, catcher J.P. Arencibia has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Rays.
Arencibia has 25-homer power, which is rare among catchers, but he’s not really good enough at anything else to carry much all-around value. His defense is shaky, he’s a career .207 hitter, and his ghastly 462/84 K/BB ratio has led to a .255 on-base percentage.
He’ll head to Triple-A Durham and try to convince the Rays he’s worth a call-up at age 29.
The Marlins designated utilityman Derek Dietrich for assignment, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. This comes amid a flurry of moves on Tuesday night as teams prepare their rosters ahead of the Rule 5 draft next month.
Dietrich, 29, is coming off another strong season in which he hit .265/.330/.421 with 16 home runs, 45 RBI, and 72 runs scored in 551 plate appearances. He played all over the diamond, spending most of his time in left field and at first base. Dietrich also played some second base, third base, and right field.
Dietrich is entering his third of four years of arbitration eligibility. He earned $2.9 million this past season and MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn $4.8 million in 2019. Cutting Dietrich represents a bit more than 4 million in savings for the rebuilding and perennially small-market Marlins. Dietrich should draw some interest, so the Marlins could end up trading him rather soon.
Wonder how J.T. Realmuto, now the longest-tenured Marlin, is feeling right about now.
