The Marlins have outrighted right-hander Luarbert Arias to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to a report from Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extrabase this afternoon. Arias had previously been designated for assignment by Miami in a flurry of roster moves earlier this week, but the club evidently successfully passed the righty through waivers.
Arias, 24, made his big league debut with the Marlins earlier this year. A product of Maracay, Venezuela, Arias signed with the Padres as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2018. He stuck around the Padres organization in the lower levels of the minors until he was plucked from San Diego by the Marlins in the minor league phase of the 2021 Rule 5 draft. He made his organizational debut in 2022 and mostly pitched well at the Single-A level before enjoying something of a breakout season in 2023 when he posted a 1.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings of work between the High-A and Double-A levels.
That excellent performance earned Arias his first call-up to Triple-A in 2023, and in 86 1/3 innings of work at the level over the past two seasons he’s mostly looked quite good with a 3.23 ERA in 59 outings. A 22.0% strikeout rate against a 9.7% walk rate leaves something to be desired, but those peripheral numbers looked better in 2024 than they have this year, when he’s struck out just 8.5% of his opponents while walking 15.9% in 15 appearances. Regardless of those struggles, the Marlins still opted to bring Arias up from Triple-A to make his major league debut this year. He’s struggled badly through 10 1/3 innings of work, surrendering an ERA of 11.32 with an 18.2% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate.
While Arias lacks the requisite service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, he does have a previous outright on his record after being outrighted off Miami’s roster earlier this year. That means he could head into free agency early if he so chooses, but either way he’ll be granted minor league free agency at the end of the season if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster before then. The right-hander would then be available on the open market to any team interested in taking a chance on him. Given his success at Triple-A as recently as last year and the fact that he has minimal service time with minor league options remaining, he should be a fairly attractive candidate for a minor league deal in free agency if not added back to Miami’s 40-man roster.