While spring training is coming to a close this week for the big league clubs, it will keep going into next week for the minor league teams. The Triple-A team will play on Monday and have a camp day on Tuesday before things end for them. The other levels of the minors will continue to play games in Arizona through Sunday April 2nd before heading to their affiliate cities. One player that won’t be heading out to begin the season on time is Chase Petty.
The Reds 9th rated prospect will stick back in Arizona out of an abundance of caution. Petty dealt with some elbow issues and the Reds have decided to bring him along slowly this spring because of that. He’ll remain in Goodyear and continue to pitch there and build up some innings before joining either Daytona or Dayton.
A few more minor league cuts
Two recognizable names were released from the organization this spring. Pitcher James Marinan and infielder Braylin Minier were among several players let go by the Reds this past week. Two offseasons ago, in late November of 2021, the Reds added Marinan to the 40-man roster. He had ended the 2021 season on a high note, but had struggled leading up to his final few outings that year. By the middle of June of last season his performance had led to his being designated for assignment after posting a 7.71 ERA in High-A Dayton. Things didn’t get better after he cleared waivers as his ERA moving forward last season was 8.14.
Braylin Minier never made it to the 40-man roster like Marinan did, but it wasn’t long ago that he was the top signee in the Reds international class from 2019. The infielder got a $1.85M signing bonus in July of 2019. With the pandemic wiping out the 2020 season, he didn’t get on the field after signing until 2021. That season he was with the Arizona Complex League Reds, hitting .255/.308/.393 as an 18-year-old. Last year he saw time back in Arizona for a handful of games (he hit .320/.414/.520 in seven games), but spent 45 games with Single-A Daytona in the second half of the year. He struggled with the Tortugas, hitting .194/.233/.302 in 146 plate appearances where he walked seven times and struck out 50 times.
Some surprises here. Minier is just 19 – isn’t that a bit early to give up. or is it simply a ack of roster spots and taking time from someone more promising? Perhaps a casualty of MiLB downsizing?
Marinan is the last remnant of the Floro trade. Anyone remember that? But, at 24, and with the past year’s performance, to be expected.
Finally is the Petty issue a carryover from last season, or a newer development? He had a full season last year, and tailed off a bit in Dayton – was this why? Certainly a good idea to slow things down.
Minier is a bit of an eye opener, but I honestly couldn’t see where he would fit, Hi or Lo-A, given the competition with talent. I do recall reports his body had really thickened to the degree he want much of a middle infield candidate anymore. So I’m guessing the Collier/Stewart duo pushed him out of Daytona, and something similar in Dayton, perhaps Treana, Callihan and Callahan, with others. I thought his LH swing was nice. Can’t imagine he doesn’t land somewhere quickly.
Yeah, there was not much chance that Minier was going to be a middle infielder. While some places still list him at 160 – that’s what he was when he signed. He was listed at 222 in the media guide. From a physical standpoint he looked more like a catcher than an infielder.
I agree that the news on Minier is a bit surprising. However, I think I like the move. DaveCT is exactly right.
He was not ready for Dayton and I don’t want him taking playing time away from the Daytona 9. As it is the Daytona 9 includes 5 IF. (Stewart, Jorge, Balcazar, Acosta and Collier). Every AB Minier would get would subtract an AB from one of these 5.
I wonder where guys like Minier would be today without the COVID shutdowns. For that matter, we’d all would have been better off with less hysteria then.
All of us? That seems like a real big stretch.
No, not a stretch, but this isn’t the forum for elaboration.
As someone who has lost three relatives to COVID in the last 7 months I’ll tell you right now that yeah, in 2020 it was a stretch to suggest that *everyone* would have been better off.
Again, not the forum but I spent a lot of time visiting in various hospitals throughout 2020 and lost a couple of folks then as well. As evidence has subsequently shown, the measures enacted accomplished nothing.
Strong disagree.
That’s fine. You have more experience/contacts in the baseball world than I, but not the insurance/medical world. So, we’ll disagree and get back to baseball.
Yikes, LDS, you really don’t know when to button it, do you?
Good grief. I always suspected we had some nuts on this board.
Perhaps the fact the young man ballooned to 222 pounds suggests he doesn’t have the self discipline to play professional baseball and not that he missed 1 spring training due to covid measures.
Who might the Reds have lost due to decision to add Marinan and Solomon to the 40 man for the 2022 season?
Tromp comes to mind. Riley O’Brian also might look good in the bullpen these days.
Are we talking about the same Riley O’Brien who has 2.1 more big league innings than I do who is 28-years-old?
Yes. Have you seen him this spring? He worked more with Driveline and according to M’s announcers has totally rebuilt his breaking ball, plus he’s sitting 96-97 out of the bullpen. Seen him twice and he’s looking like a new man. But … point taken, Sir Doug, how could we know that back then? Plus dude is from and lives outside of Seattle.
I’ve seen the reports (or at least some of them), but we’re talking about a guy who has a 1.50 WHIP this spring with all of that new stuff who has 4 walks and a hit batter in 7.1 innings. He strikeout rate is up – 12 of them so far – but I’ll just not worry about losing him for one second ever. He’s 28 and has 2.1 innings in the big leagues. If he’s a guy who figures it out when he’s 28 and has a long, successful career – that rules. But teams shouldn’t be kicking themselves because he once pitched for them in the past.
*from Seattle, meaning he can probably walk to Driveline
In fairness, Doug, O’Brian is in camp with an AL West and AL contender. Marinan is somewhere but not there.
Absolutely true!
It really shows our progress as a minor league system. I’m not a huge fan of giving up on someone that young that was so highly touted 3 years ago. How do some organizations have more rookie ball teams than we do? I thought we were limited to 1 team per level but, there is a lot of DSL teams.