Jarrod Saltalamacchia was cut by the Miami Marlins and now he will be a free agent once he clears waivers and reports have Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians as teams that could be interested in signing him.
According to Buster Olney at ESPN, the Diamondbacks are the early favorites to sign Saltalamacchia, with sources saying the deal could get done once he clears waivers. Saltalamacchia was on a three year contract worth $21 million and he signed that last offseason with the Marlins. Saltalamacchia has struggled mightily with the Marlins and now he will be on a new team soon enough.
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks have shown the most interest in Saltalamacchia and the team likely will give him the chance to get regular playing time if they sign him. Miami still has to pay Saltalamacchia and that makes it likely that a deal will get done quickly. Saltalamacchia is hitting just .069 this season in nine games with one home run.
Saltalamacchia has shown some pop in the past, putting up 14 home runs with the Red Sox in 2013 and that is what the team that signs him hopes he can do again. Saltalamacchia is a solid defensive catcher and while he is not an All-Star, he is very competent behind the plate.