Highlighting Intriguing Players That Were DFA’d

The 40-man roster deadline is often one of the most action-packed days during the early portion of the season when it comes to protecting players for the Rule 5 draft. As we saw this week, several teams made deals and some teams designated talented players for assignment, sending them to waivers. We’re going to take a look at a few of the more intriguing names that fit that criteria and see what they could bring to the table.

Jarlín García, RP

Jarlin García started his career with the Miami Marlins, posting a 4.29 ERA over 150 games from 2017 to 2019. The lefty reliever was then designated for assignment for the first time in February of 2020 and was subsequently claimed by the San Francisco Giants. He went on to have a career year in 2020 with a 0.49 ERA in 19 games before once again proving to be a legit weapon out of the ‘pen in 2o21 with a 2.62 ERA over 58 games. A drop in his strikeout rate and rises in his walk, hard-hit, and home run rates compounded his 2022 season and led to a -0.1 fWAR over 50 games despite a 3.74 ERA, largely due to his poor peripherals.

García is worth a flyer on waivers due to his successful two-season stretch prior to 2022, as well as his effectiveness against lefties. Left-handed hitters slashed only .192/.245/.364 against García to go with just a .266 wOBA. Another factor to consider is that his four-seam fastball, which was an elite pitch in 2021 and had a run value of -12 according to Baseball Savant, seemingly lost its efficacy in 2022 as batters slugged .459 against it. If García could switch some things up and rediscover that pitch in 2023 and beyond, he could become a steal for any team that claims him.

Raimel Tapia, OF

After an underwhelming stint in Colorado that saw him put up just 1.1 fWAR over parts of 6 seasons, Raimel Tapia was swapped for fellow outfielder Randal Grichuk and sent to Toronto. With the Blue Jays, Tapia played in 128 games and produced 0.3 fWAR and a 90 wRC+ while slashing .265/.292/.380.

Tapia’s value is derived mainly from his speed and defense. The 28-year-old stole 20 bases in 2021 and 8 in 2022 while also ranking in the 72nd percentile for sprint speed. As for his defense, he struggled with -5 Outs Above Average in 2022 but put up 5 OAA total in his two full seasons prior to that. Building off of that, Tapia possesses an extremely strong arm that ranked in the 82nd percentile.

Tapia doesn’t bring much to the table offensively, as he owns a career wRC+ of 80 and doesn’t hit for power while struggling to get on base. That shouldn’t take away from his strengths as a player though, as he can operate as a fourth outfielder that provides value in a variety of ways.

Jackson Stephens, RP

After signing a minor league deal with Atlanta before the 2022 season, Jackson Stephens stepped in and pitched valuable innings for a Braves team that had one of the best bullpens in the league. Stephens threw 53.2 innings over 39 games for Atlanta while recording a 3.69 ERA, 3.54 FIP and 0.4 fWAR.

Stephens excels at inducing weak contact, with his hard-hit rate against on the year coming in at just 32.1% while his average exit velocity against sat at 87.0. With his strikeout and walk percentages numbers being rather pedestrian at 20% and 9.8% respectively, it’s a trait that he thrives off of. Within his five-pitch mix, Stephens relies on his four-seam fastball and curveball the most, and for good reason. Both had negative run values and a combined batting average against of under .200. Stephens’ curve in particular showed loads of potential, as it had 16.0 inches of break and in turn ranked in the 96th percentile for the pitch in spin rate.

Overall, Stephens has the arsenal and makeup to be a solid middle reliever and could make the team that claims him really happy in the near future.

Ryan Yarbrough, SP/RP

Ryan Yarbrough has had an interesting career, often following the “opener” within the Rays unorthodox yet effective pitching model. Yarbrough amassed 5.8 fWAR over his five-year period in Tampa, with the pinnacle coming in 2019 when he produced 2.6 fWAR, 4.13 ERA and a 3.55 FIP over 28 games. Despite his play declining over the past two seasons, Yarbrough will hit waivers as a fascinating rotation option that has unique flexibility.

Yarbrough’s claim to fame is the fact that he is one of the game’s most prolific soft-tossers. His cutter, which acts as his primary pitch, comes in at an average velocity of 82.3 MPH while his sinker sits at just 86.7 MPH. As a result, Yarbrough is a savant at limiting hard contact while also possessing impressive command. The downside, however, is that he can struggle to put batters away and doesn’t exactly have dominant stuff, which becomes more of an issue when you consider the fact that he is a flyball pitcher.

Yarbrough has valuable experience as an MLB-caliber starting pitcher, which should be enough to draw significant interest on waivers.

Stone Garrett, OF

Stone Garrett being DFA’d was arguably the most surprising development ahead of the Rule 5 deadline on Tuesday as teams scrambled to set their 40-man rosters. After playing parts of eight seasons in the minor leagues, Garrett was called up by Arizona in August and immediately let his presence be known. In 27 games, Garrett slashed .276/.309/.539 while putting up a 131 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR.

Garrett has potential due to his mix of speed and raw power. However, there are legit concerns about his swing-and-miss tendencies and overall plate discipline, which manifested at the major league level in the form of a 32.1 strikeout percentage and 3.6 walk percentage. Still, considering the fact that he has options remaining and has proven he can handle major league pitching, there’s no reason to believe Garrett won’t be claimed and given a chance to earn a role next spring.