The Marlins drew catcher Sandy Leon to a minor league agreement. The contract includes an invitation for Leon to attend the Spring League training camp of Miami in the major leagues. In addition to Leon, the Marlins also officially announced six other players (infielder) Eddy Alvarez, vanger Brian Navarreto, and right-handers Zach Thompson, Alexander Guillen, Anthony Bender, en Luis Madero) has received spring invitations for small league contracts.
Leon is a veteran of nine major league seasons and is best known for his five seasons with the 2015-19 Red Sox, a tournament that earned him a World Series ring in 2018 and unexpectedly acted as an offensive threat (. 845 OPS in 283 appearance) in 2016. That 2016 campaign is a big standout amid Leon’s overall career numbers, as he has a .216 / .284 / .327 dash over the 1379 career in PA.
Leon does not even reach the modest production level in 2020, as he hits .136 / .296 / .242 in 81 PA along with the Indians. It’s pretty clear that Miami is not signing Leon for his bat, but rather his well-documented defensive skill – Leon is respected as a game caller and he was an above average pitch in both 2018 and 2019. Leon also said some impressive figures over his career, although the total has fallen over the past two years.
The signatures of both Leon and Navarreto add a bit of depth to a Marlins catch that consists of Jorge Alfaro and Chad Wallach. Alfaro is coming off a tough season, but as a former prospect he will have a much better chance of establishing himself as a regular back-up. Wallach is another first defender, so with Leon now in the game, Wallach will need a good performance in Spring Training to keep his job in the active roster.
Navarreto is back in Miami after making his MLB debut with the team last season and appearing in two games. Navarreto was originally a sixth-round pick for the twins in the draft in 2013. He scored 214 / .264 / .307 in the career of 1753 in the minor year (in the Twins and Yankees farming systems) without ever having a Reach Triple-A Ball. He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins last winter, but of course never appeared in the minors due to the cancellation of the minor season.
Alvarez is the only other member of the group to have appeared in the majors while scoring .189 / .268 / .216 for the Marlins in the first series of the Major League record of his career last season. Alvarez’s MLB debut made headlines as the former Olympic silver medalist fast skater was the first former Olympic player (of course in a sport other than baseball) to appear in the majors since legendary Jim Thorpe. Alvarez, who started his career as an unknown free agent, scored .278 / .375 / .413 with 40 homers over 2430 minor league PA, working mostly as a shortstop, but also a significant amount of second and third base played.