Royals trade pitcher Aaron Crow to Marlins
The Miami Marlins bolstered their bullpen Friday afternoon, acquiring right-hander Aaron Crow from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for left-hander Brian Flynn and minor-leaguer Reid Redman, the team announced.
Despite finishing the season with a 77-85 record, the Marlins improved dramatically in 2014 from one season ago, boasting an effective relief corps that was central to the club's progress. Only four National League teams fielded a bullpen with a higher strikeout rate than the Marlins in 2014, who also managed a 3.33 ERA and a 3.20 fielding independent pitching, the third-best mark in the majors.
Crow, an All-Star in 2011, regressed significantly with the Royals last season, posting a 4.12 ERA with a 13.9 percent strikeout rate, the ninth-lowest mark among relievers with at least 50 innings pitched. Though the 28-year-old was relegated to a low-leverage role last season, Crow boasts plenty of experience as a setup man. It is likely, however, that he was deemed expendable by Kansas City after the Royals resigned Jason Frasor to a one-year deal Friday morning.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said the team will also entertain the idea of using Crow in the starting rotation.
"It’s still early in the offseason and we’re not sure how the rest of the offseason will unfold in terms of what else we add to our pitching staff, but we love the flexibility," Hill told the Sun Sentinel. "We love the thought he could possibly be a starting option for us, but at a minimum we know he’ll be a valuable bullpen piece and just add to the overall depth of our staff."
Flynn, meanwhile, boasts just six career appearances at the major-league level and spent the majority of the 2014 season at Triple-A New Orleans. The 24-year-old southpaw managed a 4.06 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP over 25 starts in Triple-A, notching 104 strikeouts while issuing 50 walks over 139 2/3 innings.
Redman, a 23rd-round draft pick in 2012, crafted a 2.04 ERA with a 5.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 44 relief appearances between Hi-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville last season.