Miami Marlins DFA reliever John King

MIAMI, FL — On Sunday morning, the Miami Marlins designated left-handed reliever John King for assignment, making room for right-hander Jack Ralston in their bullpen.

King was one of five offseason major league free agent signings that the Marlins made. Throughout the first half of the season, he was easily the best of the bunch, posting a 2.48 ERA and 3.93 FIP in 40 innings of work (40 appearances). He also stranded 23 of 25 inherited baserunners during that span.

However, King never returned to form after missing time in July with an ankle injury. He's made 10 appearances since then, posting a 10.24 ERA and 8.67 FIP. In the month of August alone, he has a 13.50 ERA and only had one clean inning, which was his first outing of the month.

"I got John probably on a Mount Rushmore of teammates. What a pro," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said pregame. "John pitched a lot and I asked him to pitch even some times when it probably wasn't the most advantageous. It was about the team, and John always just took the ball and had no ego. This decision for me just came down to looking at our where we are now in this season and the group we have down in the 'pen."

Previously the Marlins' top option against left-handed batters, McCullough admitted that King had fallen down the depth chart, pitching exclusively in "down games" that had gotten out of hand. "That's not a great spot for him, and I think for us, it just didn't make a lot of sense, either."

The Marlins could have controlled King for the 2027 season via arbitration, but he would've required a raise from this year's $1.5 million salary. They decided he wasn't worth it.

Pete Fairbanks is now the lone free agent signing who remains from the offseason, while Cade Gibson is the only left-hander on Miami's active roster.

On the flip side, the Marlins calling up Ralston is the perfect move for a bullpen group that has struggled recently. In 39 appearances this season at the Triple-A level, he has posted a 1.66 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 11.31 K/9 and 4.37 BB/9. Ralston was recently added to the Marlins 40-man roster on August 3.

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix previously highlighted Ralston as a prime example of somebody who his front office targeted in minor league free agency based on exciting underlying skills and approached with specific tweaks.

"They got on phone calls with Jack, explained to him why we were interested, what we wanted to do and got Jack's buy-in, and then they executed," Bendix said. "Jack was the one who actually made those changes, executed on it and continued to get better."

The Marlins and Nationals will face off to wrap up this three-game set on Sunday at 1:40 pm with Janson Junk taking the mound.