The Marlins announced that they have sent right-hander Zach Brzykcy outright to Triple-A Jacksonville. That indicates the Fish put him on waivers in recent days and he went unclaimed. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported the move prior to the official announcement. The righty will stay in the system as non-roster depth. Miami’s 40-man roster count will drop to 39, perhaps allowing them to make a pick in next week’s Rule 5 draft.
Brzykcy, 26, has never pitched for the Marlins. He had spent his entire career with the Nationals until the Fish claimed him off waivers last month. The Nats added him to their 40-man roster two years ago, to keep him out of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Since then, he has mostly been in the minors. He has just 28 2/3 big league innings, having allowed 32 earned runs in that time, giving him an ugly 10.05 ERA at the moment.
On the farm, he has shown big strikeout stuff but control issues. He missed the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. Over the past two years, he has thrown 61 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.70 ERA. His 13.6% walk rate is quite high but he’s also punched out 28.7% of batters faced.
Since this is Brzykcy’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. He will therefore stick with the Marlins in a non-roster capacity and provide them with some depth.
Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images