SF Giants: Minor Leaguer Luis Madero Signs with Marlins

The Miami Marlins announced a couple of moves on Wednesday including the signing of a former SF Giants pitching prospect Luis Madero.

According to Mark Sanchez of KNBR, former SF Giants farmhand Luis Madero has signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. It is not yet known if the deal includes an invite to Spring Training, but given that he has spent time on the 40-man roster for both the Giants and the Los Angeles Angels, it seems an invite is likely.

The 23-year-old originally signed as an international free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks for $160,000 during the 2013 J2 signing period. He was then traded to the Angels in exchange for reliever David Hernandez at the 2017 trade deadline.

In an effort to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, the Angels selected his contract to the 40-man roster in 2018. In total, Madero has appeared in six minor league seasons where he has registered a 4.39 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 20.4 percent strikeout rate against a 6.9 percent walk rate in 471 innings.

The right-handed hurler came to the Giants as a waiver claim last winter. This looked to be a shrewd, under-the-radar move as both Eric Logenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs believed the righty was mature for his age:

"“Instead of 87-92, Madero’s fastball resided in the 90-94 range throughout 2018, and he retained his trademark advanced command of four pitches. The best of those pitches is his curveball… He profiles as a fifth starter and may be up at some point this year, though the Angels’ many veteran pitching additions make it less likely”"

The Giants do not have a lot of young arms at the upper minor league ranks and Madero seemed like a potential option that could breakthrough the big-league rotation in 2020 or 2021. However, his stay on the 40-man roster was short-lived as he passed through waivers shortly thereafter.

He remained with the organization and worked out at the alternative training site in Sacramento before becoming a free agent when the season ended. While the Giants have re-signed a number of free-agents, it appears they were willing to let Madero go elsewhere. Of course, it’s possible that they offered him a similar contract, but he referred to join Miami.

Now, Luis Madero will try to make an impression with the Miami Marlins organization. Miami is a good fit for the right-handed hurler as they lean heavily on young arms, so Madero might make his debut sooner rather than later.