Early in the morning hours of July 4th, news broke that the Tigers had reached a deal in principle with former New York Yankee, San Diego Padre, Toronto Blue Jay, San Fransisco Giant and Miami Marlin infielder-outfielder Yangervis Solarte.
The Venezuelan 32-year old (Happy Birthday today, July 7!) switch-hitter has hit 75 home runs in the majors and appears to have great energy, raw hitting skill, and defense.
According to the tweet above, Solarte can play anywhere in the infield and both corner outfield spots, too. His strikeout rate is just 12.7%. He’s also hit 10+ homers in five straight years at the major league level.
So what’s not to like? Well, I can give you a few things that will temper your expectations and turn me into killjoy #1 before he even puts on a Tigers uniform. Don’t get me wrong – he looks like a very exciting player and it will be really cool if he makes a positive impact. But consider this:
- He’s coming over mid-season. Only two hitters have ever joined this team from overseas in the middle of a campaign and stayed on the top roster the following year: Mike Solomko (1961) and Efren Navarro (2019). The former contributed for several years after, but that was almost 60 years ago. The latter started on the top squad this year, but has not been heard from since the end of April, and given his .195 average on the farm (as of July 6), he will likely soon be forgotten.
- Solarte’s K:BB ratio (one of the few relatively accurate predictors of success in NPB) was around 2:1 in 2017 and 2018 combined. He’s also grounded into 39 double plays over those two seasons. His OPS+ during that time is 87 (100 indicates an average player).
- His natural infield positions are second, short and third. The team will most certainly not use two import hitters, will it??? This has not happened since the 2016 season, and even that was just for the short time Matt Hague was on the top squad.
- In order to play on the top squad, the team would have to shuffle one of its current imports down to the farm. There’s no way it’s going to be Rafael Dolis (leads CL in saves with 17; ERA is 1.51) or Pierce Johnson (easily our best reliever; ERA is 0.56). That leaves either Onelki Garcia (decent, but the defense behind him has been atrocious) or Jefry Marte (don’t get me started… OK, DO get me started).
You’ve read my comments before about how this team is notoriously bad at being patient with import hitters. You know that I went on record as saying Marte is worth receiving a fair chance. So have they held up their end of the bargain? The answer is a clear “no.” While I’m not privy to insider information about how players are feeling physically or how they do during pre-game practice/BP, I can say that he started his fifth career game on the bench. Later in May, he started on the bench in three of six games during one stretch. Then three of four during interleague (all losses, by the way).
And how’s he produced? Since the start of June, he’s batting .301 but apparently the team (or the media, or the fans) are upset by the fact that he has just two homers in that stretch. His OPS on the year is a respectable .794, which is good for second on the team among players with over 100 PA.
I understand what the team is trying to do by installing Yusuke Ohyama in the #4 spot in the order and keeping him there through thick and thin, but let’s keep in mind that he is batting .254 since the start of June with just one round-tripper, and his OPS on the year is .728. Let’s also not forget that he leads the Central League with 15 errors, despite once being hailed for his sound defensive play.
Not only is nobody calling for him to be replaced (as the media, and apparently the team is with Solarte being very close to joining the team and presumably bumping Marte), he has only once been sent to the bench before the conclusion of a game. He has blown countless chances late in games to give the team a tie or a lead. (Note: His “Win Probability Added” on the year is -0.12… yes, a negative number, which indicates below-average performance when it comes to helping the team win.)
The jury is still out on what Yangervis Solarte will do if/when he suits up for our team, but in the meantime, I’m highly impressed with Marte’s play. His defense has been solid, he’s now been on the hero’s podium in two straight wins, and should NOT be rumored to be on his way out, or in the club’s bad books.
You ever want to have good import hitters, Hanshin? Believe in them a little!
Update: The Tigers announced on Sunday morning that they have in fact signed Solarte to a contract for the rest of 2019. He will wear #42 and make 50 million yen. He could arrive around July 20 and play as early as the 23rd if all goes well.