Leo Jiménez

It sounds like the 25-year-old infielder was going to elect free agency anyways if the Marlins tried to send him outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, so they’ll just set him free instead. Jiménez slashed a miserable .199/.306/.259 in his 194 plate appearances with the Marlins. If he latches on elsewhere, it will almost assuredly have to be on a minor league pact.

He’s been on the roster almost all year outside of a small stint on the 7-day concussion injured list. It’s been a disastrous run out for the Marlins as he’s hit .199/.306/.259 in 194 plate appearances after coming over from the Blue Jays in the big Dub Gleed trade. The 25-year-old could find himself claimed on waivers.

The 25-year-old infielder had been sidelined since May 21 due to concussion symptoms. He returns to a .227/.327/.250 slash line with zero homers and one RBI in his first 52 plate appearances with the Marlins. Graham Pauley was optioned back to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move on Friday.

Jiménez will need to miss at least a week with his head injury. The 25-year-old will be replaced on the active roster by Graham Pauley, with Pauley getting a promotion from Triple-A Jacksonville in the corresponding transaction.

The right-handed-hitting Jiménez was limited to playing against lefties previously, but since Graham Pauley got sent down, he’s started three of the Marlins’ five games against righties. He did collect three hits last night, which was probably why he was back in there today, but the DH spot really isn’t being optimized while being filled by a utilityman with a career .211/.309/.322 line in 283 major league plate appearances. The Marlins will probably keep mixing and matching until Griffin Conine comes off the IL or Agustín Ramírez returns from exile.

The positive news here is that X-rays came back negative after Jiménez was removed from Wednesday afternoon’s contest against the Cardinals. It sounds like he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list.

The Marlins designated Garrett Acton for assignment in a corresponding move to clear a spot on the team’s active roster. Jiménez, 24, is out of minor league options so he’ll get an immediate opportunity to show what he can do in a reserve role at the big league level for the Fish.

The Blue Jays had designated Jiménez for assignment earlier in the week, so they were willing to flip him for anything tangible that they could get at this stage. Jiménez is out of minor league options, so the Marlins will have to make a 26-man roster move to clear a spot for him before the trade becomes official.

Jiménez’s chances of making the Jays seemed a lot better during that brief window after Anthony Santander went down and before Jesús Sánchez was acquired. He’s out of options and the closest thing the Jays would have to a utility infielder on the bench, but they can probably do without him, since Davis Schneider can play second, Addison Barger can play third and Ernie Clement can slide all around the infield. If the Jays put him Jiménez waivers, one imagines someone will take a shot. He’s just 24, and he has a .404 OBP in 94 career games in Triple-A. As a major leaguer, he’s come in at .207/.303/.332 in 242 plate appearances to date.