MIAMI, FL—On Monday, the Miami Marlins claimed outfielder Joey Wiemer off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. He was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. FanDuel Sports Network’s Craig Mish was the first to report the news. The corresponding roster moves were to designate Jack Winkler for assignment and reinstate Derek Hill from the injured list.

Wiemer, 26, was originally drafted and developed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He had a monster season in 2021 between Low-A and High-A where he slashed .295/.403/.556/.958 with 27 home runs, 77 RBI, 30 stolen bases and a 193 wRC+. He was rated as a Top 100 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline entering both the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Wiemer made his major league debut in 2023 and through 132 games, he slashed .204/.283/.362/.645 with 13 home runs, 42 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 77 wRC+.

This will be Wiemer’s fourth different MLB organization. In 2024, he was dealt alongside Jakob Junis to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Frankie Montas. Wiemer only played in two games with the Reds before he was once again traded last offseason, this time to the Royals along with Jonathan India in exchange for Brady Singer. He never played a major league game for the Royals, struggling for their AAA-Omaha affiliate with a .182/.291/.312 slash line in 72 games.

Wiemer can play all three outfield spots and do so very well. In 2023, he posted five outs above average in center field along with one DRS. His arm strength ranked in the 81st percentile among MLB outfielders, per Baseball Savant.

Wiemer is using up his final minor league option in 2025, so there’s some pressure on him to show improvement down the stretch of this season.

As for the other roster moves, Hill returns from a left middle finger sprain, his third IL stint this season. Through 33 games, he’s slashing .211/.276/.322/.598 with two home runs, seven RBI, six stolen bases and a 66 wRC+.

Hill will be a defensive replacement and face primarily left-handed pitching, per manager Clayton McCullough. Javier Sanoja, who has been splitting time between the infield and outfield, will be used in the infield only for the time being.

Winkler was in his second stint with the big league team, but was barely leaving the bench. His last appearance came on July 28 during a lopsided loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s likely to clear waivers and remain with the Marlins organization.