Led by a new general manager, the Marlins overhauled their bullpen and added a group of low-cost veterans they hope can supplement a growing core of young big leaguers.
Major League Signings
- Anthony Bass, RHP: Two years, $5MM
- Adam Duvall, OF: One year, $5MM
- Ross Detwiler, LHP: One year, $850K
- Total spend: $10.85MM
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RHP Dylan Floro from the Dodgers in exchange for LHP Alex Vesia and RHP Kyle Hurt
- Acquired RHP John Curtiss from the Rays in exchange for 1B Evan Edwards
- Acquired RHP Adam Cimber from the Indians in exchange for cash
- Traded RHP Jordan Yamamoto to the Mets in exchange for INF Federico Polanco
- Selected RHP Paul Campbell from the Rays in the Rule 5 Draft
- Acquired Rule 5 RHP Zach Pop from the D-backs in exchange for PTBNL
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Brandon Kintzler, Harold Ramirez, Ryne Stanek, Matt Joyce, Francisco Cervelli, Brad Boxberger, Jose Urena, Drew Steckenrider, Pat Venditte, Mike Morin, Josh A. Smith
The Marlins’ winter began with the news that longtime president of baseball ops Michael Hill would depart the club after the two sides weren’t able to come to terms on an extension. Hill went on to take a job in the league offices, while the Marlins made history by tabbing Kim Ng as MLB’s first female general manager.
Ng has been considered a potential GM for years now, having previously served as an assistant GM with multiple clubs in addition to holding a prominent post within the league offices herself. She’s interviewed for several openings, and she’ll now be given the keys to a promising, up-and-coming club fresh off a surprise postseason berth. A return to the playoffs will be a tall task in a stacked division and with fewer postseason spots up for grabs in 2021.
As is often the case when new front office regimes take over, the first winter was a relatively quiet one under Ng. The Marlins were connected to come notable names — free agent Marcell Ozuna and trade candidate Willson Contreras among them — but the moves the team actually did make were far more measured when all was said and done.
Some of that is surely due to the presence of intriguing youngsters at various positions on the roster, while some is likely due to ownership’s commitment to limit spending early in its tenure. Marlins CEO Derek Jeter sought to distance the organization from a leaked payroll projection plan in his first winter on the job — one in which payroll was to drop from $115MM in 2017 to the low $80MMs in 2019-20. However, the Marlins haven’t done much to suggest that plan was not accurate, and last year’s revenue losses couldn’t have accelerated plans to spend.
That being said, the Fish still made a handful of notable additions, beginning with the signing of righty Anthony Bass to a modest two-year pact. Bass has done well in reviving his career after a nice run in Japan, and he parlayed a strong showing in Toronto last year into a guaranteed multi-year pact.
Bass is the favorite to close games in Miami this year, and while he’s not the prototypical high-strikeout, high-leverage reliever, Bass fits a similar profile to that of 2020 closer Brandon Kintzler. The 33-year-old Bass sports a sinker that averages around 95 mph, and last season’s 62.3% ground-ball rate was the tenth-highest among the 490 pitchers who threw at least 10 innings. If you up the minimum to 20 innings pitched, Bass ranked fourth among all MLB pitchers.
While Bass was the most expensive addition to the team’s bullpen, he was far from the only one. In fact, the Marlins added several relievers with a similar profile to Bass, suggesting that while they knew they wouldn’t be able to spend on the market’s top strikeout artists, they’re confident they can build a bullpen that thrives on grounders and weak contact.
Inking journeyman lefty Ross Detwiler to a big league deal came as something of a surprise, but at $850K, the price was minimal. And, like Bass, Detwiler was flat-out elite in ground-ball production last year, turning in a 58.3% mark that ranked 30th of the 490 pitchers with 10 or more innings. Dylan Floro, acquired in a trade with the Dodgers, ranked 44th on that same list. Adam Cimber, picked from DFA limbo in a deal that sent cash to Cleveland, was tied for 74th at 52.4%. Rule 5 trade acquisition Zach Pop has a career grounder rate north of 60% in the minors.
The exceptions to the ground-ball rule were righty John Curtiss, acquired in a small trade with the Rays, and Rule 5 pick Paul Campbell. Curtiss hasn’t established himself in the big leagues over a large sample but was the stingiest reliever in the game in terms of walks last year. Campbell is a spin-rate darling who doesn’t miss as many bats as one would expect.
Miami completely overhauled its bullpen mix without spending much money or surrendering much in the way of prospects, as Ng and her staff bucked the industry trend of paying up for late-inning whiffs. They’re not the only club to invest in this area this winter — the A’s also went heavy into weak contact, at least prior to inking Trevor Rosenthal — but it’ll be telling to see if the club succeeds with this approach. There are too many weak contact/ground-ball specialists here to think it’s mere coincidence, so it seems like the Marlins made a deliberate bet on a skill set they felt was undervalued.
Beyond that slew of bullpen additions, the Marlins’ primary add was former division-rival slugger Adam Duvall. Non-tendered by the Braves on the heels of a productive 2020 season, Duvall now figures to slot in as Miami’s everyday right fielder, with 2020 deadline pickup Starling Marte in center and 2019-20 offseason signee Corey Dickerson in left field. It’s a veteran group that ought to provide some value on both sides of the ball. Duvall is a low-OBP, high-powered slugger with a strong glove in the outfield corners, and the Marlins landed him at a rather reasonable $5MM rate for the upcoming season.
That the Marlins are trotting out a trio of veterans to serve as their starting outfield in 2021 highlights the disappointment stemming from a group of prospects once considered to be the future there. Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra, Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez were all billed as top prospects at various times and were all key pieces in the Marlins’ last tear-down. To this point, none of the quartet has solidified himself as a big leaguer or really even come close to doing so. Each of Brinson, Harrison and Sanchez at least has a minor league option remaining, so there’s still some leash yet to break out.
Sierra, meanwhile, is out of options and struggling in Spring Training. We’ll find out before long whether the restructured front office is as bullish on his outlook as the regime that acquired him as part of the Marcell Ozuna trade with the Cardinals (alongside Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen). Miami already parted with one semi-notable piece of its rebuild haul, as righty Jordan Yamamoto was sent to the Mets after being designated for assignment to clear space on the roster for Bass. Yamamoto was considered the fourth-best piece in the Christian Yelich swap behind Brinson, Harrison and Isan Diaz, but he was the only one of the four to find some reasonable big league success to this point.
Elsewhere in the lineup, there’s a good bit of continuity. Brian Anderson will reprise his role at third base and in the heart of the order, providing the Marlins with a solid, underrated cornerstone. He and the former front office discussed an extension last spring, but Ng suggested over the winter that she wants a chance to evaluate Anderson firsthand before determining whether to sign him to a long-term deal. The third baseman is currently controlled through the 2023 season.
Team leader Miguel Rojas is back at shortstop, and he’ll pair with Anderson to form a strong defensive tandem on the left side of the infield — one that bodes well for the Marlins’ grounder-heavy bullpen. At second base, the hope is that Diaz can cement his spot after opting out of most of the 2020 season, but he’ll compete for time with veteran Jon Berti and have prospect Jazz Chisholm looming as well. Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper will hold things down at first base, and Cooper can play some corner outfield should an injury arise. Cooper drew some offseason trade interest once Duvall was signed, but the Marlins opted not to move him.
Speaking of offseason trade interest, the Marlins’ catcher position was the source of some intrigue early in the winter. Reports of the team’s interest in Contreras led to plenty of speculation and even elicited a reaction from Contreras himself on social media, but a deal never came to pass. Miami was linked to some other options behind the dish, mostly in more speculative fashion, but in the end they’ll give another chance to Jorge Alfaro and Chad Wallach. It seems fair to believe that pairing doesn’t take a step forward in 2021, changes could be on the horizon.
As it stands, Sandy Leon was the only backstop option brought in from outside the organization, and that came on a minor league deal. He’s one of just two prominent names in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring, joining hometown “kid” Gio Gonzalez. The veteran lefty inked a minor league deal not long after camp began and is in the mix for a rotation spot. Given every team’s need for depth and innings as they exercise caution ramping pitchers back up, Gonzalez ought to have a decent chance to make the club. He’s competing with prospects like Trevor Rogers, Nick Neidert and Braxton Garrett for that spot, but he’d be a sensible add to the Opening Day roster even as more of a long reliever.
All in all, it was a relatively quiet winter for the Marlins. The bullpen has been turned over considerably, but much of the club’s fate lies with the development of burgeoning young rotation cogs like Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and the tantalizing Sixto Sanchez. Elieser Hernandez, fresh off a strong but abbreviated showing in 2020, is likely to start plenty of games this season as well. It’s an interesting and exciting mix of young arms for the Fish — one that could very well be the foundation of a more competitive wave of clubs than we’ve seen for years in Miami, with new ownership and new management now fully entrenched. The odds are against them for a playoff berth in 2021, but the future still looks bright.
How would you grade the Marlins’ offseason? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors iOS/Android app users)
B, some sneaky signings that could work for them and if they don’t no harm. Also made some interesting trades that should work out for them.
A for me because of the hiring of Kim Ng and she addressed needs right away by signing bullpen help and getting a good bat. She was there to do her job not to get all the fame. She also made some trades for reliable relievers in Floro and Curtiss.
If reliable is 25 innings of decent relief work, then sure.
Ok Bass has been reliable. Detwiler as a reliever is more effective and is pretty good. Floro is pretty good, but Curtiss still has had only 25 good innings but they were really good and he has probably made adjustments since he was with the Rays
Yeah I agree. They didn’t have many needs but Ng addressed them pretty well with low risk, solid players
I’d rate the Fish offseason as an S…for sensible. And there is a lot of long term value in being sensible.
They might play in the most competitive division in baseball so a lot of things would have to go right to make the playoffs, but it would’ve been nice to see them do a bit more.
As you mentioned, a lot of things have to go right for them to make the playoffs this year. I believe they’re going to have a winning record (or close to it) this season. They’ve rebuilt the bullpen (more cheaply) w ground ball guys than going after high strikeout guys. They have a very good top 3 in the rotation and more coming up. It’s going to be a very interesting AND competitive division for the next several seasons. This is coming from a Braves fan.
Steve, thanks for these offseason reviews from you and the rest of the writers. They’re really good reads with lots of details. Much appreciated.
Also has there been any news about fan capacity for the teams in Florida? Jacksonville is selling out an arena in April for UFC 261. You’d think the owners of the teams won’t want to be too far behind if that’s allowed.
I believe opening day is “sold out” at around 8k tickets. They are allowing something around 30% capacity. At least that’s Marlins park.
8,000 people. So it’s an ordinary home game experience for the Fish. I say this with love.
Yeah you’re not wrong. I definitely think it’s positive though because it sold out very fast. I think it’s a combination of just missing baseball, some Rays fans will come down, and more people in Miami paying attention to to the team.
But to get people in the seats you have to have a fun product and win. They did so last year and people in the city are definitely paying more attention. I don’t think they will have a winning record this season but I feel they will “sell out” at a consistent basis and be fun to watch. And for once it feels when a player gets exciting he will actually be around next season.
The real test comes soon , the 2021-22 off-season. If some money actually gets spent to supplement the core being built then you’ll see real attendance. If they cheap out things will get very bleak.
They don’t have a lot of money or revenue, and were caught dangling in the wind by previous ownership.
BUT Ng was a great hire, and they’ve made some strong moves., even if they may not show; the NL East really is the strongest division in MLB.
But the arrow definitely is pointed up.
cheap team makes cheap moves. yawn. D.
I mean what did they need besides bullpen and maybe a power bat. They got Duvall and got lots of bullpen pieces. Do you expect them to get very expensive options for the pen?
catcher ,2b, ss been thrown around next year
they have more young talented pitching than the Phillies. Wouldnt be shocked to see them finish above Philly this year….
I could see them finishing ahead of any team in that division, but cannot see them being able to finish first, if that makes any sense. They could get a lot of unexpected contributions from their young players moving forward, which is why I wish they would’ve brought in a couple of bigger pieces.
Oh @jdgoat, bigger fish! It was right there!!
It really is so cute seeing you on their articles since you and I both know the Phillies will finish below them, but hey, JT! I’ll eat that one.
Not everyone can spend a ton of money like the Phillies to make the playoffs. Oh wait….
Gave them an A for signing Bass.
agree but a lot of fail does not make grade a.
school should let you now that
Good grief: Alcantara & Gallen in that Ozuna trade. Wow. Hope STL got a decent Edible Arrangement.
They should’ve been able to get Yelich for that package. I wish I knew what the discussions were with the Cards regarding Ozuna and Yelich after Stanton nixed the trade to St. Louis.
Yeah I believe hearing a lot that the Cards wanted Yelich second but the Marlins pushed Ozuna really hard (came off an MVP type season) and Alcantara was target #1 for the fish. Before St Louis Ozuna graded well defensively (won a GG too) and put up great power numbers. Can’t blame them.
Gallen also came out of nowhere. I wonder if they would have kept him if they knew what he would do. I wonder if he can keep it up. But Alcantara is growing rapidly and Jazz can be a game changer. Definitely a trade I’ll continue watching for the final grade.
C. Even Steven. Got some guys. Lost some guys.
That Yelich trade is absolutely killing the franchise… even if Brinson and Diaz alone worked out and became at least solid big league regulars, I think Marlins would be a playoff team this year…
Still a chance for Harrison, I guess.
In terms of their moves this offseason, I like it, but don’t love it. Would have rather them be aggressive and get more of a long term piece, specifically a second baseman. Would’ve liked to have seen an aggressive signing of someone like DJ Lemahieu (who I think got severely underpaid) or maybe even a nice two-three year deal with someone like Kolten Wong. Other than that, I think this team is headed in the right direction. Their bullpen seems to be underrated and will be the best that they’ve had in a long time.
I wouldn’t call a 33 year old second baseman a long term piece. That’s more of a win now signing.
He got a 6 year contract and has been playing at an MVP level for the past two years. Absolutely a long term piece. Age doesn’t mean a player doesn’t produce. I think Lemahieu (who’s main strengths are hitting and defense) will be great well into his late 30s.
You have to take the bad with the good. Would you rather have Alcantara, Chisholm, Harrison, Sanchez and Dévers or have Yelich and be stuck with the Stanton contract?
C offseason, they made whatever, non incremental moves which I guess is fine for a rebuilding team on the cusp of their prospects being ready, but also pretty sad for a team coming off a playoff series win.
The Yelich trade was pretty lousy but the Ozuna trade couldn’t have been any better from the Marlins perspective. Every team makes good AND bad trades. The Cardinals didn’t even get a compensatory pick for Ozuna. I’m glad the Braves signed him for 1 year and then 4 more instead of a 5 year deal from the beginning.
Yes the Cards did get a comp pick for Ozuna
I stand corrected. I was referring to the “old” sign for over X amount of $ compensation pick.
marlins lost that trade w/ozuna when they traded zac Gallen
Let’s be honest, unless some of their prospects step up significantly, the Marlins got worse this offseason. Adam Duvall is a solid signing, but he was likely gonna be a platoon/bench bat for the Braves for a reason (if we kept him). Marlins might be asking a bit too much for their young guys. I think they needed one more year of development. They made the playoffs last year, but we all know the short season helped them there and they wouldn’t have maintained. They simply didn’t look like a playoff team at al
Certainly looked like a playoff team against the Cubs… oooops but it was a shortened season it doesn’t count nevermind.
Yeah, especially when they lost 20+ guys to covid-19. I mean “C’mon man” they picked up players from the discard pile and between them and their young’uns not only made it to the playoffs but ADVANCED in the playoffs. Like some of the old timers used to say; Those kids showed some spunk & gumption. Let’s be honest. Pretty much ALL of us had them written off fr the beginning. They stepped up and they’re going to be a group to be contended with for the foreseeable future.
A year for growth and hoping to hit on these vet relievers to deal them at the deadline. Although this could be a year where the Marlins surprises the league, odds are they will watch what goes down and make their move next year.
It’s a C. The much-needed bullpen makeover looks pretty solid, but Duvall was the biggest bat they added and that means their lineup is still bad. It’s kind of sad they didn’t push a little harder to follow up on the playoff berth, but 2020 was a fluke and I guess that’s how they’re treating it.
Missing is the fact that all the projected starters are 25 years-old or below. They are the future of the franchise. And there are more good young pitchers throughout the minors, including a few that should be up this year.
I look for the Marlins to contend some this year, probably finish 3rd. Most of the other NLE teams depend too much on older veterans – injuries are going to happen.
Although they are a different sort of team. the Marlins remind me a lot of the late 2013 – early 2014 Royals. Watching them play you can see the talent, and while they’re not flashy players, by developing strong fundamentals they’ll have enough to be a consistent winner. The players aren’t sexy enough for the media, and playing in a small market they get lost. This is one of the rebuilds I believe is going to work. It’s the only rebuild that puts pitching first – and with young pitching depth, they can always trade to get position players they need. Lots of good young inexpensive position players available, very few good young inexpensive pitchers.
for the record Royals
Year W L W-L% pythW-L% Finish GB Playoffs
2020 26 34 0.433 0.458 4th of 5 10
2019 59 103 0.364 0.397 4th of 5 42
2018 58 104 0.358 0.38 5th of 5 33
2017 80 82 0.494 0.446 3rd of 5 22
2016 81 81 0.5 0.476 3rd of 5 13.5
2015 95 67 0.586 0.555 1st of 5 — Won WS (4-1)
2014 89 73 0.549 0.519 2nd of 5 1 Lost WS (4-3)
2013 86 76 0.531 0.534 3rd of 5 7
2012 72 90 0.444 0.455 3rd of 5 16
2011 71 91 0.438 0.48 4th of 5 24
They had a 3 yr run and fell back down into being nothing. You also didnt include that they brought in edison volquez and kendry morales to build on that successful trend to bring them to the world series while having an amazing bullpen as their building block.
Miami is doing neither to supplement their growth other than bring in Duvall who is a good bat but i dont know if i would put his bat in with Morales and even then Morales was a dh and didnt need to be in the field. Also Edison Volquez was coming off one of his best season and performed an encore the WS year.
I love the competition and hope im wrong but i think they are only going to hit on maybe one or two of their prospect starters and as a mets fan we know of mets prospect pitchers getting hot starting then falling off a cliff (Matz as most recent example)
I said the Marlins remind me of the Royals in 2013 and early 2014.
At that time James Shields had just gotten to the Royals with Wade Davis. Shields hardly looked like the top of rotation / team leader he became, and Davis wasn’t in the bullpen yet – he was considered a failed starter. Morales and Volquez were not on the team. The team began to jell around June of 2014 and people (including writers and posters here) thought their winning was some sort of a fluke as no one but me and a few others were watching their games.
When the Royals made it to the WS the players agents all demanded more money – which happens to ALL teams and disproportionately affects small market teams. That’s been going on for over 25 years now. What month did you start following MLB?
I expect the Marlins to begin their push in 2022. I believe at least half of the position players on the roster will be different, and many of the ones that remain will have different roles. Should they elect to trade quality prospects from the farm as the Royals did (and the Indians did in their push to the WS), then the Marlins will lose some players to free agency and/or trade them before they get there. Their window of contention will have closed, and they’ll have to do a sort of a refresh for a year or two to re-open it.
That’s the way MLB is for all teams. The windows of contention for a WS appearance stay open for shorter periods with small market teams as they don’t have the revenue to pay the larger salaries to most players. Teams such as the Rays and Indians are trying to avoid complete tear-it-down rebuilds, we’ll see how that works.
The object is to build a team that can stay in contention for years. How long since the Yankees or Red Sox have been in the WS consecutive years? Other then the recent Dodgers, name me any other team that has been a top of the line contender for a 4-5 year period over the past 25 years (and don’t expect to find a small market team on that list).
Braves, Cardinals, and the Rays are usually in contention with the Cardinals being the division leader pretty regularly i might add and even winning a world series in there. Braves especially in the early part of your 25 years being the number 1 team in the NL East and in the playoffs 10 years in a row with 3 world series appearances and even winning 1 of those.. It looks like they are starting that trend again albeit with spending a little more money. this time around. I guess being in the playoffs 16 out of 25 years with many trips to the division series+ doesn’t count as a contending team. I mean they are only in the same division as the marlins. which you seem to know inside and out.
I also said they ADDED Volquez and Morales TO THE TREND usually a trend is after two instances and what was that their 3rd winning season is when they added them. Also i never said Davis or anyone in particular in the bullpen because they had a great / dominant bullpen before Davis was closing / in bullpen. You might remember a guy named Holland. No you probably started watching them after they won the World Series is my guess and pretend to know about the team. But he was their closer that was not only an all star but garnished a few a few Cy Young and MVP votes the two years prior to Davis. But you wouldnt know about that. When Holland got hurt, they moved Davis more into the closer role. But of course you know that because you watched baseball for more than a month but im guessing not. Also dont forget how well Luke was doing in the setup role for holland as well as a couple of other mid card guys like Herrera who became a closer himself later on.
And if you actually paid attention, it was two years after the world series is when the team fell apart when Hosmer Cain (and eventually Mous the next year) left the team for bigger paydays not directly after the world series as you implied. That is when the team truly fell apart as they were still a winning or close to 500 team.. Those 3 were a huge part of the success and were the backbone of that team along with Gordon and Perez for position players.
Yes i agree more times than not for low payroll teams they have a contention window and the royals struck while the iron was hot and went all the way and won the whole thing. I dont see the Marlins especially in the NL East division competing in their window. You have the Braves Mets and Nationals in that division that have improved their teams (some more than others) and the Marlins really just hope another year will help the team grow and be better.
In reality, nearly everything has to fall their way and 2 out of those 3 other teams will need to have a lot miss for the Marlins to make the playoffs. If they were in any other division but the NL East NL West and AL East i could see them being probably close to the top if not the top team but right now in this space and time at best i can picture them is 3. You can argue payroll all you want but it is there and you are competing with big money teams. Why Miami is not bringing the fans in i dont know as they are a large market (same with Tampa and Pittsburgh) but you cant blame the other teams for that. Only the team management and owners can be blamed for not bringing in the fans especially with a well known hall of famer at the helm. The sports fans are out there just look at the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic games (yes i know Orlando is different market but florida in general im referring to)
how many innings can you reasonably expect their starters to go? I’d guess that they have an innings limit.
Marlin’s the worst team in NL East, should finish last in the division.
And yet, they’re smacking everyone around again in ST…including the Mets lol. Last year it was because the season was only 60 games. Now it’s because it’s only ST. I can’t wait to see what the excuse is gonna be at the end of this season lol…
Another day, another Mets spanking. Loving it.
This is not the year to go allout. Too many unknowns connected to ramping up young starters from a 60 game season. Pitching, defence and just enough runs may well secure the Marlins 3rd place in the Division this year.
Having easily the best infield defence in the division makes the weak contact, heavy groundball pitching a very sensible approach.
No love for Anthony Bender as a “Notable Minor League Signing?” Man’s been dominant this spring and approaching triple digit heat. Might have a legitimate shot at cracking the roster
I really hope he does. He looks like someone who could end up the closer by seasons middle or end. If it becomes another Nick Anderson signing then it’s going to be awesome.
I know he has an opt out sometime AFTER the season starts, I assume fairly shortly after it begins so if he is not on the opening day roster hopefully soon enough. I rather give him a chance than think Hoyt can repeat what he did (especially since all he throws are sliders).
He’s been the guy I’ve been paying most attention to all spring.
Marlins had less holes and needed to keep the path open for the young players to come in. It has been a solid offseason.
As for their place in the division, the Marlins are a Wild Card (card deck, not playoff name). Anything can happen with them because of that they have and what they may have when the young players are ready. Also, there are a couple of teams in the NL East that can easily implode to help the Marlins.
Marlins are a dangerous team this year.