Adam Conley clears waivers, outrighted to minors

Per the official Marlins transactions page, left-hander Adam Conley cleared waivers on Sunday and was outrighted to the minors. This update comes one week after being designated for assignment by the only professional franchise he’s ever known. Conley was not sent to the alternate training site in Jupiter—like previously DFA’d players Brett Eibner and Brian Navarreto—and therefore doesn’t count against Miami’s 60-man player pool. The pool is nearing full capacity with a handful of players on the verge of returning from the COVID-19 related injured list.

The Marlins second-round MLB Draft pick in 2011, Conley’s major league career has been split between starting (2015-2017) and relieving (2018-present). Overall, he’s posted a 4.82 ERA, 4.56 FIP and 2.5 fWAR in 414.1 IP.

Coming off a nightmarish 2019 campaign, the Marlins made the surprising decision to tender him a contract, with the sides settling on $1.525 million. Conley earned a spot on the 30-man Opening Day roster, but didn’t pitch during the first series of the regular season. He was later confirmed to be one of the 18 players in the club’s Philadelphia travel party who tested positive for COVID-19.

Conley continues to throw exceptionally hard for a left-hander—95.3 miles per hour average fastball velocity last season, per Statcast—with adequate control. However, the Marlins do not trust him to make their pitching staff better in the midst of a playoff race. From other teams’ perspectives, a salary nearly three times higher than the league minimum and a lack of minor league options made him undesirable.

The lefties currently in the Marlins bullpen are Richard Bleier, Brandon Leibrandt and Alex Vesia.