Troy Johnston is joining the Miami Marlins in St. Louis prior to Tuesday’s game, Fish On First’s Kevin Barral confirms. After grinding for more than 700 professional games (minor leagues and fall/winter ball combined), Johnston will get his first taste of the majors.
This call-up is frankly two years overdue. A consistently great offensive performer in the minors, Johnston was the organization’s 2023 Minor League Player of the Year. The Marlins snuck into the postseason that year in spite of several lineup holes.
Johnston has a career MiLB slash line of .281/.367/.458 with a 123 wRC+, 81 home runs and 83 stolen bases, including a career-high 31 steals this season. Now 28 years old, he would have been eligible to elect minor league free agency this upcoming offseason if not selected to the 40-man roster beforehand.
Johnston will presumably slide right into the roster spot that was vacated by the newly traded Nick Fortes. With Fortes gone, there are enough reps available for Liam Hicks to be used exclusively as a catcher. Johnston can split time with Eric Wagaman at first base. (I’d prefer to see Heriberto Hernandez over Wagaman, as discussed on Monday.)
Congrats to Troy. We’re hearing that the Johnston family has traveled to St. Louis to soak in this milestone with him.
Down on the farm, DSL Miami defeated DSL Marlins, 5-2. José Paulino (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K) set career-highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. José Castro won it in walk-off fashion with his 11th home run of the season, which leads the entire Dominican Summer League. High-A Beloit’s Brandon White was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. For on-site coverage of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp over the next two days, make sure you’re following Kevin Barral.
More Marlins news and content below:
🔷 Cam Cannarella received a $2,277,425 signing bonus from the Marlins in advance of Monday’s signing deadline. The team spent exactly 100% of their bonus pool, though this is the fourth straight year that they’ve been unwilling to pay any overage taxes (there is wiggle room to spend up to 105% of the pool without losing any future picks). Expect to see several draftees make their professional debuts this week.
🔷 I explained why Joe Mack won’t be considered for a call-up until August 15 at the earliest.
🔷 Following his latest quality start, Edward Cabrera expressed his love for Miami with rumors swirling about a potential trade. Cabrera lowered his season ERA to 3.35.
🔷 The San Diego Padres are among multiple clubs considering Anthony Bender, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
🔷 The latest trade activity: the Detroit Tigers acquired Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins and the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays. Paddack bringing back a top-30 organizational prospect for the Twins bodes well for Cal Quantrill’s value—both pending free agents, Quantrill and Paddack are having very comparable seasons.
🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave through August 31 as part of an MLB sports betting investigation. Clase’s teammate, Luis Ortiz, was placed on leave earlier this month as part of the same investigation. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg passed away at the age of 65.
🔷 Today’s MLB game: the Marlins seek payback after getting soundly beaten by the Cardinals in their series opener (probable starters RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Sonny Gray). It could very well be Alcantara’s final appearance with the Marlins. Sean McCormack, Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral collaborated on three mock trade proposals. Dating back to 2021, the Fish are 2-11 at Busch Stadium. They have a 40.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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