MLBits: Rangers Calling Up Jack Leiter, Marlins Demote Max Meyer Despite Strong Start, More

The Rangers and Marlins are two clubs heading in opposite directions right now. And their transaction sheets tell you all that you need to know. Texas is calling up Jack Leiter, while Miami demoted Max Meyer, who has been their best pitcher this season.

The Rangers are calling up Jack Leiter to start on Thursday

The Texas Rangers came into the season with a paper-thin starting rotation thanks to a trio of starters on the IL for the first half of the season. With Cody Bradford joining Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle on the IL, Texas is calling on their top pitching prospect, Jack Leiter, this week.

Leiter was the second overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Rangers and began this season as the Rangers’ No. 8 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Leiter pitched to a 13-4 record and 2.08 ERA, with 201 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings over two seasons at Vanderbilt before being drafted by the Rangers.

While Leiter has struggled in the minors since being drafted in 2021, he’s gotten off to a strong start in Triple-A this season, pitching to a 3.77 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and three walks. He logged a 10-strikeout performance against Oklahoma City on April 12.

Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy said Leiter impressed the Rangers this spring and told him that he would be a part of the roster in Texas at some point this season.

“He’s been throwing the ball very well down there,” manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday morning (via MLB.com). “What a great time to call him up because he’s been throwing well, and again, he’s earned this.

“I told him when he left [Spring Training] that we’re going to need him, and I loved the way he was throwing. I don’t think anybody thought we’d make the changes we’ve made already pretty early in the season [with Michael Lorenzen debuting Monday night]. But still, [Leiter] really came on at the end and was throwing strikes, the command, all that. I’m looking forward to watching him.”

Meanwhile, the Marlins are sending Max Meyer down despite a solid start to the season

The Marlins are sending their best young starting pitcher down after he threw six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven Braves hitters on Saturday. Max Meyer dominated one of the best lineups in baseball this weekend and owns a 2.12 ERA in three starts for the 3-14 Marlins this season. The former first-rounder is responsible for two of the Marlins’ three wins this season.

Despite Meyer’s hot start, the Marlins feel like they have too much healthy starting pitching right now, even with Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez sidelined for the year while they recover from Tommy John surgery.

“Something has to give,” Marlins general manager Peter Bendix said. “We spent a full three different meetings of an hour each talking this through, kind of talking ourselves in circles because we didn’t have an obvious, ‘Oh yes, just do this,’ type of solution that we all felt great about.”

Miami sent Meyer down to make room in the rotation for Edward Cabrera, who was stellar against the San Francisco Giants last night. Miami also has Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, A.J. Puk, and Ryan Weathers in their rotation.

I’m sure everyone’s first assumption is that the Marlins are demoting Meyer to manipulate his service time, but that’s not likely. Meyer started the season with one year and 82 days of MLB service, so he would not qualify for Super Two arbitration status even if he spent the entire season with the Marlins. Plus, the only way Meyer won’t accrue his second full year of service in 2024 is if the Marlins leave him in Triple-A for more than half of the remaining MLB schedule.

While it’s not a service time manipulation issue, it’s fair to wonder why Miami prefers A.J. Puk and his 5.91 ERA to Meyer, who has been stellar this season. After making the postseason in 2023, Miami can pick inside the lottery in the 2025 MLB Draft. With a 3-14 record, they currently have the best odds of eligible teams to pick first (21.71%) since the White Sox won’t be eligible to select inside of the lottery slots in 2025.

So, that may be the answer, which is about as Miami as it gets.

Extra Innings

The Dodgers are calling up outfield prospect Andy Pages. According to MLB.com, Pages—the Dodgers’ No. 3 prospect and the No. 94 overall prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100—is expected to be in the lineup for Los Angeles tonight against the Washington Nationals.

Pages went 8 for 17 with two home runs with the Dodgers in Cactus League play this spring and is hitting .371 with five home runs, 15 RBI, two stolen bases, and a 1.146 OPS in Triple-A this season.

Hall of Fame MLB manager Whitey Herzog passed away today. Herzog won World Series titles in 1969 and 1982 as the Mets farm director and then as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Herzog was 92 years old.

Cubs first baseman Michael Busch is on an absolute heater right now! Busch has a home run in his last five games including a solo shot last night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his first at-bat of the game, Busch blasted an 0-2 cutter from Arizona starter Merrill Kelly 419 feet into the Chase Field pool area in right-center.

Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill exited Monday’s game after a collision with teammate Rafael Devers on a pop fly to shallow left field. O’Neill received eight stitches above his left eye and is going through MLB’s concussion protocol. O’Neill has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball to start the season with seven home runs and a 230 wRC+ in his first 15 games for Boston this season.

As if things couldn’t get worse for the Marlins right now, Jake Burger will hit the 10-day IL with a left oblique injury.

Did anyone catch the White Sox-Reds game on Sunday? If you didn’t, lucky you. The 2-14 White Sox were especially pitiful as they allowed the Reds multiple free at-bats by dropping not one but two fly balls in the outfield on Sunday. They’re as bad as it gets in baseball right now.