The Mets announced they’ve selected an infielder Deven Marrero onto the major league roster. He replaces Luis Guillorme, who has landed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain (as reported earlier). New York also recalled catcher Michael Perez from Triple-A Syracuse, placing fellow backstop Tomás Nido on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Nido doesn’t count against the team’s 40-man roster while on the virus list, so no additional move was necessary to accommodate Marrero’s promotion.
Marrero, 32 next week, is headed to the big leagues for the second straight year. He appeared in 10 games with the division-rival Marlins last season, frequently bouncing on and off the roster depending on Miami’s need for additional infield insurance. He didn’t reach the majors in the shortened 2020 campaign, but he’d also gotten to the big leagues each year from 2015-19.
A former first-round draftee of the Red Sox, Marrero has settled in as a journeyman utility type. He’s never made much of an offensive impact, compiling a career .194/.250/.284 line with six home runs over 367 career big league plate appearances. Marrero owns a .230/.292/.335 line in parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level, including a .236/.325/.358 showing in 32 games with Syracuse since signing a minor league contract with the Mets last month.
Marrero has the ability to cover anywhere on the infield, with the vast majority of his professional innings coming at shortstop. He can play second and third base as needed, and that defensive flexibility is of value to a New York team dealing with a couple of injuries on the infield. None is more notable than the groin strain that’s likely to cost Guillorme more than a month of action, but New York also saw Eduardo Escobar sat out two games over the weekend due to some soreness in his left side. Escobar is in tonight’s staring lineup at third base and shouldn’t require an injured list stint, but Marrero adds some additional cover if manager Buck Showalter wants to mix in a few more rest days for the veteran Escobar.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported Marrero was being promoted.
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