Journeyman Lefty Loses Roster Spot as Marlins Make John King Deal Official
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The hum of spring training is occasionally interrupted by a player losing his job, even during the first week.
The Miami Marlins added left-handed reliever John King earlier this week. They announced the deal as official on Thursday. Since it was a Major League deal, Miami needed a 40-man roster spot.
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When the Marlins made the Chris Paddack deal official, they had a workaround. Reliever Ronny Henriquez, who had already been ruled out for the season due to elbow surgery, could be moved to the 60-day IL since camp had started. Miami had no such luxury with King. So, another left-hander, Josh Simpson, was the odd man out. He was designated for assignment to make room for King.
It’s possible that Simpson could boomerang back to Miami.
Josh Simpon’s Possible Path Back to Miami
We’ve made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/C4vSTUaAyc
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) February 13, 2026
When a player like Simpson is DFA’ed, he is removed from the 40-man roster, but a process begins in the background. The Marlins have seven days from the move to either trade him or place him on outright or unconditional release waivers. Once Simpson is on waivers, any team can pick him up, but he must be immediately added to their 40-man roster.
If Simpson isn’t traded and no one claims him, then the Marlins can assign him to one of their minor league affiliates. Because he only has one year of Major League service time, he can’t refuse the assignment. Miami could also choose to give him his unconditional release and let him be a free agent.
Teams sometimes DFA a player and gamble that no one will pick him up, especially ones like Simpson that don’t have the service time to refuse the assignment if he clears waivers and isn’t traded.
Simpson was drafted by the Marlins in the 32nd round of the 2019 MLB draft out of Columbia. He spent six years working his way through the minor leagues, including being unable to pitch in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of minor league baseball.
He finally made his MLB debut last season, as he was promoted on June 21. He pitched in 31 games, all in relief, with a 4-2 record and a 7.34 ERA. He struck out 36 and walked 22 in 30.2 innings while batters hit .272 off him. He had two holds and failed to convert his two save opportunities.
Miami is likely hoping that Simpson will get through the process so he can be on stand-by at Triple-A Jacksonville should the need arise.
