Marlins designate top shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya for assignment

In a depleted Miami Marlins farm system, Jacob Amaya stood out for his solid shortstop defense and well-rounded plate approach...and the Marlins could potentially lose him for nothing? They surprisingly designated Amaya for assignment on Tuesday as the corresponding 40-man roster move for Emmanuel Rivera, who has been acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Quite frankly, I don't get it.

Fish On First was higher than most outlets on Amaya entering the 2024 season, ranking him as our No. 7 Marlins prospect. Not by much, though: MLB Pipeline ranked him ninth and Baseball America ranked him 11th. Conceding that Yiddi Cappe is destined to move off of shortstop, Amaya was seemingly the top internal option that the Marlins had at the position.

In 2023, his first season in the Marlins organization, Amaya played 128 games for Triple-A Jacksonville, slashing .252/.345/.407 (89 wRC+) with 15 home runs and six stolen bases. That included 117 starts at shortstop.

Amaya earned his first MLB call-up in June, though stuck around for only four games. The Marlins entrusted the shortstop position to veterans instead (Joey Wendle, Jon Berti and Garrett Hampson). After being optioned, he OPS'd just .700, which translates to a mediocre 81 wRC+ in the offensively charged International League.

Fast-forward to this spring, Amaya did not get substantial reps in Grapefruit League play and was optioned back to Jacksonville two weeks in advance of Opening Day. When the Marlins traded Berti on March 27, Jonah Bride was recalled to take his spot over Amaya.

Amaya has his warts, including below-average athleticism which hinders his batted ball quality and baserunning value. In the minors, his production has been underwhelming against right-handed pitching. It was difficult to envision him as a true everyday starter in the majors. Even so, Baseball Trade Values estimated that he had $6.7M in median surplus value, far above what we typically see for a DFA'd player (and far above several other Marlins 40-man players). Clearly, the Marlins did not value him as highly internally.

Current Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson is only signed through this season and it's still premature to say that he'll rebound from his abysmal 2023 campaign. Berti has been dealt and slick-fielding Nasim Nuñez, who wasn't protected from the Rule 5 Draft, remains with the Washington Nationals. What is the team's plan moving forward to address this crucial position? Why the rush to DFA Amaya at this early stage of the season?

In the short term, Tristan Gray and José Devers should get most of the shortstop reps for the Jumbo Shrimp.

I'll wait to see where Amaya lands and what the Marlins get in return for him before rushing the judgement, but this looks on the surface like an unforced sell-low situation.

Interested in learning more about the Miami Marlins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!