Phillies acquire reliever Yunior Marté from Giants for left-hander Erik Miller
The Phillies added another power bullpen arm in a trade.
Just two days after sending three players to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens, the Phillies orchestrated another, smaller trade.
The Phillies acquired right-handed pitcher Yunior Marté from the San Francisco Giants on Monday for left-hander Erik Miller.
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Last month during a media availability at baseball’s winter meetings, manager Rob Thomson mentioned the importance of having pitchers who still have minor league options available, and Marté fits that description. A 27-year-old reliever who was signed as an amateur free agent by the Kansas City Royals in 2012, Marté made his debut with the Giants last season, and has two minor league options remaining.
He has been placed on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, and should provide some bullpen flexibility.
Marté posted a 5.44 ERA with a 20.6% strikeout rate and a 10.3% walk rate in 48 innings with the Giants last season. He pitched better down the stretch with a 1.93 ERA in his final eight outings. He began his season with triple-A Sacramento, where he posted a 3.16 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP in 25 appearances. He was used primarily in the seventh and eighth innings.
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The Phillies see Marté as a pitcher who can come up and help in short stints. They like his velocity — his fastball ranks in the 94th percentile in baseball — but also the rest of his repertoire, particularly his slider. The Phillies’ coaching staff has identified some tweaks to his fastball usage that could help Marté.
Miller, 24, was a fourth-round pick out of Stanford in the 2019 draft and has struggled with injuriesééé. He went 2-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 48 games over three seasons in the Phillies’ minor league system, including 19 starts. Miller most recently pitched at triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he posted a 7.50 ERA in 12 relief innings. He showed promising stuff but struggled with command issues, in addition to his injury history.
The Phillies saw Marté as an upgrade who could help the big league club sooner than Miller.