After two seasons of lackluster hitting, the Marlins made several moves in the hopes of finally turning around their offense. The question now becomes if those offensive additions will provide enough help, and whether or not the club’s pitching and defense might take a step backwards.
Major League Signings
- Jean Segura, IF: Two years, $17MM (includes $2MM buyout of $10MM club option for 2025)
- Johnny Cueto, SP: One year, $8.5MM (includes $2.5MM buyout of $10.5MM club option for 2024)
2023 spending: $12.5MM
Total spending: $25.5MM
Option Decisions
- Declined $6.3MM mutual option on IF Joey Wendle, $75K buyout (Marlins retained Wendle via arbitration)
Trades & Claims
- Acquired IF Luis Arraez from Twins for SP Pablo Lopez, IF prospect Jose Salas, OF prospect Byron Chourio
- Acquired IF Jacob Amaya from Dodgers for SS Miguel Rojas
- Acquired RP A.J. Puk from Athletics for OF JJ Bleday
- Acquired RP Matt Barnes and roughly $5.6MM from Red Sox for RP Richard Bleier
- Acquired RP JT Chargois and IF Xavier Edwards from Rays for RHP prospects Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez
- Acquired RP prospect Franklin Sanchez and OF prospect Jake Mangum from Mets for SP/RP Elieser Hernandez and RP Jeff Brigham
- Acquired OF prospect Reminton Batista from Brewers for C Payton Henry
- Selected RP Nic Enright from Guardians in the Rule 5 Draft
Notable Minor League Signings
- Yuli Gurriel, Jose Iglesias, Garrett Hampson (later added to 40-man roster), Richard Rodriguez, Austin Allen, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Devin Smeltzer, Enrique Burgos, Geoff Hartlieb, Johan Quezada, Alex De Goti
Extensions
- Jon Berti, IF/OF: One year, $2.125MM (includes $25K buyout of $3.5MM club option for 2024; if option is declined, Marlins still hold arbitration control over Berti)
Notable Losses
- Lopez, Rojas, Bleday, Bleier, Hernandez, Brigham, Henry, Brian Anderson, Lewin Diaz, Nick Neidert, Cole Sulser, Luke Williams, Sean Guenther
The first step in the Marlins’ offseason was the hiring of a new manager, as Skip Schumaker was brought on board as Don Mattingly’s replacement. Schumaker is a first-time manager who has a strong resume as a coach with the Cardinals and Padres. He and a mostly new coaching staff will be fresh voices within an organization in need of a shakeup after a 136-188 record over the last two seasons.
Hiring Schumaker and the coaching staff was basically the biggest Marlins news for the first two months of the offseason, though Kim Ng’s front office was undoubtedly very busy in laying the groundwork for future moves. Heading into the winter, Miami’s gameplan seemed pretty apparent — trade from its surplus of young pitching to land at least one quality hitter who could upgrade the club’s stagnant lineup. It isn’t surprising that it took the Marlins until January to finally swing that big pitching-for-hitting trade, as most rotation-needy teams opted to add pitching in free agency rather than meet Miami’s significant asking price.
Such teams as the Rockies, Cardinals, Red Sox, Mets, and Diamondbacks were all linked to the Marlins in trade talks, with players like Brendan Rodgers, Brett Baty, and Triston Casas reportedly on Miami’s target list. But, it was the Twins who finally found common ground with the Marlins, resulting in the four-player trade that brought Luis Arraez to Miami in exchange for Pablo Lopez and two notable prospects (Jose Salas, Byron Chourio).
The prospect element of the deal shouldn’t be overlooked, as the Marlins’ willingness to part with minor league talent in addition to Lopez indicates just how much they coveted Arraez. The reigning AL batting champ is exactly the type of high-contact hitter the Fish were seeking as the offseason began, and Arraez’s left-handed bat also helps balance a righty-heavy lineup. Arraez’s relative lack of power isn’t as important to the Marlins as his ability to put the ball into play and avoid strikeouts, and his three remaining years of arbitration control make him more of a longer-term solution for Miami.
By the time of the Minnesota trade, Arraez’s addition further shook up a Marlins infield that underwent some other changes earlier in January. Miami traded longtime shortstop Miguel Rojas to the Dodgers in exchange for shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya, and dipped into the free agent market to sign Jean Segura to a two-year, $17MM contract. The infield changes weren’t done there, as after Spring Training began, the Fish inked veterans Yuli Gurriel and Jose Iglesias to minor league contracts.
The end result is a rather unexpected infield alignment. Segura will be Miami’s starting third baseman, though his career experience at the position consists of 179 2/3 innings in 2020 with the Phillies. Arraez will play second base, despite some relatively mixed reviews on his glovework from public defensive metrics and how Arraez’s knees (which have been an injury concern in the past) will hold up at a more difficult position than first base. Joey Wendle will get the bulk of the work at shortstop, with Iglesias (if he makes the team) and utilitymen Jon Berti and Garrett Hampson providing some support since Wendle has played only 647 2/3 innings at short over his seven MLB seasons. Gurriel could pair with Garrett Cooper for first base duty, with Cooper also likely to see some corner outfield work on occasion.
The name not listed within the infield mix is Jazz Chisholm Jr., as the former second baseman will now move into center field for the first time in his professional career. Center field has been a longstanding target area for the Marlins, so if Chisholm is able to be even a passable option on the grass without losing any of his hitting stroke, that might be a win for the team. Of course, there’s plenty of risk involved in Chisholm adopting an entirely new position, perhaps both health-wise (he played only 60 games last season due to a stress fracture in his back and a torn meniscus) and defensively. “Passable” glovework might not be enough for a center fielder in the spacious loanDepot Park outfield, especially since Avisail Garcia and projected left fielder Jesus Sanchez are average defenders at best in the corners.
It makes for something of a roll of the dice for Miami, though it is possible some adjustments could be made. Due to their minor league contracts, it isn’t even a guarantee yet that Gurriel or Iglesias will make the roster, so Arraez might end up being the player sharing time with Cooper at first time. That would open up second base for either Chisholm or Segura if one of the two are struggling in their new positions, with Berti, Hampson, or (in center field) Sanchez or Bryan De La Cruz able to fill some of the gaps. Amaya might also get the call for his MLB debut if he hits well at Triple-A, since his glove is already considered to be big league-ready.
If the defense does start springing too many holes, it will be easy to second-guess Miami’s strategy in picking which hitters to target. Arraez and Segura are above-average hitters who fit the Marlins’ desire for players who can get on base and put the ball into play, putting pressure on opponents to try and defend at loanDepot Park. Yet, if their offensive contributions are blunted by subpar defense, it will call into question why the Marlins couldn’t have found hitters who were cleaner fits into their lineup without all of the position-juggling.
This isn’t to say the Marlins didn’t look into other options, as they pursued free agents such as Jose Abreu and Justin Turner but were outbid. Names like Josh Bell, Michael Conforto, Jurickson Profar, Cody Bellinger, and even Willson Contreras also drew at least cursory interest from the Marlins before signing elsewhere. On the trade front, Miami certainly discussed so many of their pitchers (besides Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez) with so many other teams about a wide variety of hitters that only time will tell if there was ever a better deal out there than the Lopez/Arraez trade.
A questionable defense can also surely lessen the impact of a quality pitching staff. It is a testament to the Marlins’ pitching depth that the rotation still looks like the team’s strength even without Lopez. Alcantara is a top-tier ace, Jesus Luzardo showed plenty of promise when healthy, Edward Cabrera could be on the verge of a breakout, and Trevor Rogers’ solid 2021 season isn’t a distant memory, even if Rogers has to rebound after a disappointing 2022. Braxton Garrett is the top depth option, but given Garrett’s inexperience and Sixto Sanchez’s uncertain health status, Miami added to this mix with a new face in veteran Johnny Cueto.
After a few injury-riddled and only moderately effective seasons with the Giants, Cueto bounced back with a solid year with the White Sox, posting a 3.35 ERA over 158 1/3 innings. Despite a lack of velocity and one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league, Cueto finessed his way to success by mostly limiting hard contact and still posting an outstanding walk rate. Even if Cueto has moved into the “crafty veteran” stage of his career, he still looks like he has something to offer in his age-37 season if he can stay off the injured list.
The bullpen was a lot less effective than the rotation last year, so the Fish bolstered the relief corps with a trio of interesting deals. Grounder specialist Richard Bleier was sent to the Red Sox in exchange for former closer Matt Barnes, J.T. Chargois (and former top-100 infield prospect Xavier Edwards) were picked up from the Rays in a four-player trade, and former fourth overall pick JJ Bleday was moved to the A’s in exchange for A.J. Puk.
It seemed as though Boston wanted to turn the page on Barnes after two seasons of highly volatile performance, as Barnes sandwiched a brutal four months of pitching (August/September 2021 and April/May of 2022) between otherwise very impressive work. The upside is there for the Marlins, and with the Red Sox offsetting the cost between Barnes and Bleier’s salaries, the price was right for the Fish to acquire a reliever with possible closer potential. It could also be noted that a grounder-heavy pitcher like Bleier might’ve been seen as less effective for 2023, given the new rules limiting shifts, and the fact that Miami might have a much shakier infield defense.
Chargois has pitched well over the last two seasons in Tampa’s bullpen, and Puk’s first full Major League season was a success, as he was one of only a few highlights in an otherwise rough season for Oakland. Though the Athletics spoke of stretching Puk out as a starter this spring, his injury history and Miami’s starter depth probably means he’ll remain as a reliever, and he has already shown signs of being a very effective weapon out of the pen.
The Puk trade is also notable for Bleday’s inclusion, as it was one of a few instances this winter of Miami opting to move on from players who seemed like potential building blocks not long ago. In addition to Bleday heading to Oakland, the Marlins traded Elieser Hernandez to the Mets, put Lewin Diaz and Cole Sulser on waivers to be claimed away, and non-tendered Brian Anderson and Nick Neidert. Though salary and a preference for other positional options factored into some of these moves, the most obvious common element is that none of these players performed particularly well in 2022.
The Marlins are clearly getting impatient with losing, especially after last winter’s steps to acquire Garcia, Wendle, Jorge Soler, and Jacob Stallings didn’t pan out. Miami’s ceiling in 2023 may hinge in large part on whether or not any of these players can get back on track, and the Fish have to hope that this offseason’s moves have at the very least elevated the talent floor on the roster. The defensive re-alignment will be a major storyline to watch in the early days of the season, but if the experimentation with the gloves and the bats work out, the Marlins could be a sneaky team to watch in the NL wild card race.
How would you grade the Marlins’ offseason? (poll link for app users)
They should have gotten themselves a real GM.
Every real GM has a beginning/starting point. I wouldn’t say she has done a great job, but Miami isn’t exactly an easy task for anybody with how cheap ownership is.
Need a real owner. I try not to blame gms. It starts at the top. If any owner just lets a gm do anything they want as long as it is within budget is foolish.
Plus we don’t know how much the riff between Sherman and Jeter had effected her ability to do her job properly.
Nice to get all the accolades and have all the excuses lined up to avoid accountability.
She had absolutely nothing to do with the ownership dispute but now you claim she’s using it as an excuse to avoid accountability with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. Delete this crap.
Not exactly defending her, but when your owner doesn’t let you spend, how can you improve a team that needs a lot? Last offseason she used limited resources on Soler and Garcia and they both had awful years. If they don’t bounce back in 2023, and the team tanks then she should be held accountable.
she used limited resources on Soler and Garcia
========================
Was Garcia hers or Jeter’s mistake? He signed on 12/1/21. But Soler is definitely hers, and that was a rookie mistake. Except for 2019 and the live ball, Soler accumulated 0.5 bWAR in 8 years.
we do know hat . if reports are true.
when jeter was their every move was made by him. only onw was not ozuna.
only real reason jeter gone is he refuse to answer question. from those above him. when jeter wanted more money.. wanted 100% control and to answer two no one.
with his 5% ownership. that had a buy out option after his 5 year.
Are you talking about the Na — zis?
Marlins are an enigma this season..
Their starting pitchers are nearly ready to compete for the postseason.
Their bullpen is garbage unless Matt Barnes and AJ Puk stabilize the ability to hold leads – something the Marlins have not been able to do the last two seasons.
Their lineup is questionable, and has some decent pieces, but they will need for some of their young guys to be stars since the vets are established supporting cast type of guys.
Their defense is mystery meat.
If their defense fails, and their bullpen continues to blow leads and the offense is not good enough to overcome a lousy bullpen, it doesn’t matter how well the starters pitch. This team would lose 100 games. If the defense is solid, the bullpen holds leads that are handed to them, and the lineup puts some runs on the board solidly, and the starting pitching continues to improve, they can swipe the 6th playoff spot.
LOL
F
While the roster is better than the one from last year and they’ve overhauled their coaching staff, they’ll find it difficult to compete in a stacked division unless they can finally draft and develop elite hitting talent and/or make significant splashes in free agency.
Honestly, with all things considered, they get a B from me.
Solid 76 win team
Yikes!
F. “significant asking price” I thought they gave Lopez away. They had to bribe MIN with prospects like it was a salary dump. If he breaks down or is awful then they get a B.
It feels like Arraez & Lopez will be about equal for the next tow seasons, so Miami traded away two decent prospects for one control year of Arraez.
I see a 800 ops platoon 1b for a under 4 era starter. If he can play above average 2b that provides more value and is key. Extra year is nice. I would rather have the pitcher.
80 wins seem to be their ceiling
An enigma? What’s puzzling about an at best 4th place team. The Marlins have one pitcher who is post season ready and beyond that is nothing but question marks. Their line up and bullpen are also swiss cheese. Aside from Jazz who’s playing out of position I just don’t see the upside. Too much would have to go right for them to sneak in. It would be a great story if they did though
B. As articles here last season would remind us, Ng works for an owner who has a budget ceiling. Tough to compete for outside talent when your division rivals have deep pockets. I thought she did an admirable job addressing positions of need based on the money owner gave her to spend.
How do you know the GM was responsible for 100% of the decisions? She could also just be a puppet.
How do you know she is not? Wanna bet she’s making more decisions then that GM in Texas.
If you don’t think Ng is making the decisions, then any discussions about the quality of her moves is a moot point.
gotta believe that at some point the infield will be Amaya at SS, Arreaz/Guriel at 1B/DH, Wendle at 2nd and Segura at 3rd which will make the infield defense look very different.
What a waste of a terrific and deep starting rotation. I don’t think Ng has done a great job, but this is an ownership issue more than anything. They just will not spend, even when they are built to contend it seems.
Just so I understand:
Arraez at 2nd is a negative fielder
Wendle at SS with 69 career starts
Segura at 3rd with 21 career starts
Cooper, Garcia and Soler can’t field, so it doesn’t make a difference who DHs.
Chisholm is the only glove among them, and they are moving him to CF.
It just feels like an odd alignment to me.
At least they signed Jose Iglesias, who can still play a solid shortstop and could probably slide over to second base if the need arises.
I think Gurriel and Iglesias will not make the roster. They are having poor Spring.
They improved on paper over last season. That’s the best you can ask for.
Maybe they’ll use that paper to hire Dwight Schrute as the next GM. Just as qualified as Ng.
True, Marlins are starting the season with several players seeming to be playing out of position. This may reflect that they know they are unlikely to compete this year and its better to approach the early part of the season as a development time. They seem to think they can get something for Cooper if he starts the season well. Then they could move Arraez to 1B. Slide Seguara to 2B or even Jazz back and perhaps a trade might open up for a CF. Amaya will certainly get the call for SS at some point. Not to mention Soler will be traded if he performs which will open things up for another player.