The Marlins have sent left-hander Kent Emanuel outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on the weekend. He has the right to elect free agency but is listed on the Jumbo Shrimp roster and already accepted an assignment earlier this year, perhaps suggesting he has accepted this one as well.
Emanuel, 32 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Fish in February. Though the season is barely a month old, the club has twice selected him to the roster, designated him for assignment and sent him through waivers unclaimed.
In each case, he made one appearance of three innings before getting bumped off the roster. He allowed a combined seven earned runs in those two outings, leaving him with an unsightly 10.50 ERA for the year so far. As one would expect, his Triple-A work has been better. Around those transactions, he has tossed seven innings over three appearances with a 1.29 ERA. He struck out 11 opponents in that time without issuing a walk.
It’s probably unrealistic to expect that kind of performance to continue. Going back to the start of 2021, his minor league work has resulted in a more pedestrian 4.55 ERA over 150 1/3 innings with a 21.9% strikeout rate. However, he was previously working as a starter and has gradually spent more time in the bullpen, so perhaps there’s another gear for him to unlock by pitching in shorter outings.
Though the Marlins bumped him off the roster, they are likely happy to keep Emanuel around. Their early season struggles have led to them continually cycling various arms through the fringes of their roster and they may need to call on Emanuel again. Their poor record also points them towards a potential deadline selloff this summer, which could increase the need for depth arms to step up later in the year.
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