The Marlins have claimed outfielder Joey Wiemer off waivers from the Royals and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He was designated for assignment by Kansas City last week.
Wiemer, 26, once ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects during his time in the Brewers system. The 2020 fourth-rounder had a huge season between Class-A and High-A in 2021 and hit well as a 23-year-old between Double-A and Triple-A in 2022.
Wiemer made his big league debut in 2023, showing off some of the power, speed and defense that made him a well-regarded prospect but also some of the red flags that troubled scouts. He popped 13 homers and swiped 11 bags in 410 plate appearances but also hit just .204/.283/.362. Nearly all of his production came against left-handed pitching. He received only 28 plate appearances the following season, and he’s since been traded to the Reds and the Royals before now landing in Miami.
It’s a small sample, but in 139 major league plate appearances, Wiemer has hit .263/.295/.481 (108 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. He’s still fanned in nearly 32% of his plate appearances versus southpaws, however, and he’s just a .169/.271/.281 hitter in 299 plate appearances versus righties. Wiemer can handle all three outfield positions and draws positive marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average.
Wiemer hasn’t had much success in Triple-A this year, and it’s fairly damning that a team with outfield struggles as pronounced as those we’ve seen in Kansas City never game him a look in the majors. In 296 Triple-A plate appearances this year, he’s hitting .182/.291/.312 with nine homers and 12 steals.
This is Wiemer’s final minor league option year. He’ll need to stick on a big league roster in 2026 or else be designated for assignment (assuming, of course, he sticks on a 40-man roster until next year, which is no sure thing). He’ll give the Fish some depth in the outfield for the time being but could eventually emerge as a bench option/fourth outfielder if he can turn things around in Jacksonville between now and season’s end.