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Mariners To Add Brant Brown To Coaching Staff

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The Mariners are hiring Brant Brown in an unspecified coaching role, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com (X link). Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported this afternoon that Brown was interviewing with Seattle.

Brown, 52, spent the 2023 season as hitting coach with the Marlins. He’d previously served as a hitting coach with the Dodgers before joining eventual NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker’s first staff in Miami. Brown has spent the past half-decade coaching major league hitters. Before joining Los Angeles, he had worked for the Mariners as a minor league coordinator.

Specifics of his new role in Seattle are unclear, although Mish indicates it’s a bigger role on the hitting staff than Brown had held in Miami. Considering he was already the hitting coach with the Fish, it’s possible he’ll take on something like an offensive coordinator role with Seattle.

The Marlins were a slightly below-average offensive team this past season. They finished 19th with a .316 on-base percentage and .405 slugging mark. Miami was only 26th in overall run scoring, although their pitcher-friendly ballpark surely plays a role in that. That’s also true of the roster, which was still built primarily around pitching. Miami’s 2023 numbers were improved on those from the preceding season; they finished 27th in OBP and 28th in slugging the year before Brown’s arrival.

Miami will look for a hitting coach for a second straight offseason. John Mabry and Jason Hart held assistant hitting coach roles this past season. Mabry has a fair amount of prior experience as a lead hitting voice. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald indeed floats him as a possibility to step into Brown’s place.

Brandon Hyde, Skip Schumaker Named Managers Of The Year

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The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the results of the Manager of the Year balloting. Miami’s Skip Schumaker and Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde were the respective winners in each league. It’s the first such honor for both.

That’s apparent in Schumaker’s case, as the 43-year-old takes home the hardware for his first season on the job. The Marlins hired him off the Cardinals’ coaching staff last offseason. Miami was coming off a 69-93 showing but improved by 15 games in Schumaker’s first year. The Fish went 84-78 and secured the second Wild Card spot in the National League. It marked their first playoff appearance in a 162-game season since 2003.

Few anticipated Miami making that kind of run. They were widely perceived as the fourth-best team in the NL East entering the season. Their success came despite a -57 run differential, as Miami went a staggering 33-14 in one-run contests. How much of that is attributable to good sequencing is up for debate, although it stands to reason voters are giving Schumaker credit for his successful handling of the bullpen in so many late-game situations. The Fish were bounced in the Wild Card round by the Phillies.

While the Marlins were a surprise playoff team, the Orioles claiming the #1 seed in the Junior Circuit might have been even less expected. Baltimore had clearly positioned itself as a team on the rise following an 83-79 showing in 2022. Yet few projected them as favorites in what looked like a stacked AL East going into the year.

Hyde’s club nevertheless improved by 18 games, jumping to a 101-51 season. They ran down and held off the Rays to claim the division title. Baltimore stuck by Gunnar Henderson through some early-season struggles and saw the talented infielder blossom into a star. He was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, while Adley Rutschman reinforced his place as an elite catcher in his second big league campaign. Kyle Bradish stepped forward as an unexpected staff ace, while top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez had a promising second half.

The season didn’t end as the organization hoped. The O’s were swept in the Division Series by the eventual champion Rangers. (That’s not relevant for awards purposes, as the voting is conducted before the postseason.) Hyde’s club nevertheless made a clear statement they’re positioned as consistent contenders entering what’ll be his sixth year at the helm.

Schumaker edged past Craig Counsell (then of the Brewers) and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker in the NL voting. The finalists were joined by Torey Lovullo, Dave Roberts and David Bell in receiving at least one first-place vote. Hyde’s victory was moire resounding, as he picked up 27 of 30 first-place nods. The Rangers’ Bruce Bochy, who finished in second, got the other three selections. Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash finished in third place.

Full voting results: National League, American League

Marlins Select Anthony Maldonado, Victor Mesa Jr.

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The Marlins selected the contracts of Anthony Maldonado and Victor Mesa Jr. ahead of the Rule 5 deadline, the team announced to reporters (including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). These moves leave the team with three open spots remaining on the 40-man roster.

Maldonado, 25, could pitch for Miami at some point next season. The right-handed reliever had a strong year at Triple-A in 2023, pitching 46 innings with a 1.76 ERA, nine saves, and a 39.4% strikeout rate. Those are promising numbers indeed, although it’s much harder to miss bats in the majors than it is at Triple-A, so Maldonado still has his work cut out for him to prove that he’s ready for a bigger role. Nonetheless, the Marlins clearly like what they have seen enough to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Mesa, 22, isn’t as close to being ready for the majors, but with his quick legs and strong defense in center field, another club certainly could’ve picked him up and stashed him on their active roster in 2024. Miami’s No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, his glove and contact skills give him a high floor, while his power potential gives him a high ceiling, especially if he can stick in center field as he ages.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Marlins chose not to protect Troy Johnston. The 26-year-old lefty batter had a phenomenal season in 2023, batting .307 and slugging 26 home runs in 134 games between Double- and Triple-A. However, given his age and position – he is a first baseman who can cover an outfield corner in a pinch – Johnston really needs to hit in order to stick on a major league roster. That’s precisely what he did last season, but he has yet to prove he can do so consistently at the highest level. Moreover, the Marlins already have Josh Bell plugged in at first base, and they’re hoping to bring back Jorge Soler at DH. Evidently, they decided they did not have room for Johnston on the major league roster.

Yankees Notes: Nola, Yamamoto, Peralta, Bailey

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While hitting upgrades have dominated the Yankees’ offseason narrative to date, the team is certainly also keeping an eye on the pitching market, including some top-shelf names.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via X) writes that the “Yankees are among the most active teams” exploring pitchers thus far, with such names as Aaron Nola and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on their list of targets.

The Yankees’ interest in Yamamoto is well known, and while Nola is a new face linked to the Bronx Bombers, it makes perfect sense why Nola would be of interest.  No opponent would relish facing Gerrit Cole and Nola in a short playoff series, and Nola’s durability would be a significant boost to a New York rotation that has some question marks heading into 2024.  Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes were plagued by injuries last season, Clarke Schmidt has only one full season as a big league starter under his belt, and Michael King (who is being tapped to remain in the rotation) has even less experience as a starter.

If everyone is healthy and if King and Schmidt can pitch as well as they did in 2023, this could be one of baseball’s best rotations on paper.  However, signing Nola, Yamamoto, or another stabilizing force to the front end of the staff would both clear up some of the uncertainty, and perhaps allow the Bombers some more flexibility with their other offseason moves.  For instance, younger pitchers like Yoendrys Gomez or Randy Vasquez might become trade chips, or perhaps even Schmidt might be shopped to land a bat.  While King will be given every opportunity to stick as a starter, the Yankees would be more open to reinstalling him as a bullpen weapon if they were more comfortable with the rest of their rotation.

Of course, it should be noted that signing Rodon last winter was supposed to deepen the rotation, but Rodon was ineffective in the first year of his six-year, $162MM contract.  Rodon’s struggles won’t preclude New York from again spending big on a starter, though it might change the general focus of their search.  For instance, Nola has averaged just under 199 innings pitched in each of the last five full MLB seasons, so he has a much longer track record of good health and consistent success.

The Yankees’ pitching endeavors also reach to the bullpen, as Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports that the club has interest in re-signing Wandy Peralta, though the left-hander hasn’t yet been presented with a formal offer.  Peralta has a 2.82 ERA over 153 innings with the Yankees since being acquired in the Mike Tauchman trade with the Giants in April 2021, and he is among baseball’s best at keeping the ball on the ground with a 56.3% grounder rate over the last three seasons.  While a .256 BABIP has helped Peralta’s cause, he is also very good at limiting hard contact, making it easier for his fielders to handle any balls in play.

This grounder-heavy arsenal and a relative lack of strikeouts makes Peralta prone to outperforming his peripherals, though he took this to extremes in 2023.  Peralta’s 2.83 ERA and .293 xOBA were well below his 4.44 SIERA and .332 xwOBA, and his walk rate (which has usually been below average anyway) spiked to a dismal 13.2%.  It could just be a one-year blip that it probably won’t be enough to prevent Peralta from landing a multi-year free agent deal, yet it does serve as a potential red flag for suitors.  Since the Yankees know Peralta better than any other club, their continued interest is perhaps a sign that they don’t see the control issue as a long-term problem, or it could be the Yankees are just monitoring Peralta to see if he can be retained at a relative bargain price.

In some Yankees news off the field, Andrew Bailey interviewed with the team on Monday about the bench coach job, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.  Bailey is no stranger to the Bronx, as his eight seasons as a big league pitcher included a stint with the Yankees in 2015.  Formerly the Giants’ pitching coach for the last four seasons, Bailey is now out of contract and is known to be getting consideration from not just the Yankees as a bench coach, but also from the Orioles and Red Sox as a pitching coach candidate.  Sherman adds that the Marlins also have interest in Bailey as a pitching coach, and that Bailey “turned down an opportunity to be considered by the White Sox” for an unspecified role.

Luis Arraez Open To Extension With Marlins

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Infielder Luis Arraez spoke today to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, saying that he has not had any extension talks with the Marlins, though he would be open to the idea if they approached him. “They haven’t talked to me about an extension, but if they do, I’m available,” he said. “I love Miami, I love my teammates. I feel at home when I play with those guys.”

Arraez, 27 in April, came over to the Marlins from the Twins in a trade prior to 2023. His first season with Miami saw him produce in fairly similar fashion to his time in Minnesota, as a high-contact bat that’s extremely tough to strike out. He was punched out in just 5.5% of his plate appearances, easily the lowest among qualified hitters, as Jeff McNeil was second at 10%. Arraez flirted with .400 for a while but his batting average eventually finished at a still-excellent .354. He added 10 home runs and his total offensive contributions translated to a wRC+ of 132, indicating he was 32% better than the league average hitter.

He’s generally not considered as gifted on his defense as he is with a bat in his hands. At his primary position of second base, he’s been graded as worth two Defensive Runs Saved in his career and Ultimate Zone Rating has him at almost exactly league average. Outs Above Average, however, isn’t enthused at all. Arraez is currently at -25 OAA in his career, with a tally of -10 in 2023 alone. The Twins had moved him off that spot and into a first base role prior to the trade but the Marlins put him back at the keystone this year.

Perhaps the Fish will move Arraez to first base down the line, but he fits better at second for the time being. First baseman Josh Bell triggered his player option and will be staying in Miami for one more season, barring a trade. Arraez can be controlled via arbitration for another two seasons and could perhaps move over to first after Bell hits free agency a year from now. As a Super Two player, Arraez has already had a couple of passes through arbitration, making $2.125M in 2022 and $6.1MM this year with two more to go. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $10.8MM next year.

Given his unique skill set, finding a perfect comparison for an extension is a bit tricky. McNeil, mentioned above, is a similar contact-over-power player who was between four and five years of service time a year ago when he signed a four-year, $50MM extension with the Mets, $12.5MM average annual value, with a club option for 2027. McNeil wasn’t a Super Two player and had only banked $3MM in his first pass through arb. He was also significantly older, going into his age-31 season, whereas Arraez is only going to be 27 next year. However, McNeil is considered a better all-around player and stronger defender, grading out well at second base, third base and the outfield corners. He had accrued 15.9 wins above replacement at the time of that deal, according to FanGraphs, while Arraez is currently at 10.6. Baseball Reference is a bit kinder to Arraez, 15.2 bWAR, since it uses DRS while FanGraphs uses a hybrid of UZR and OAA.

Arraez should be able to argue for a larger contract than the one McNeil got based on his youth and greater leverage from his Super Two-boosted salary. But on the other hand, if he is destined to move off an up-the-middle position eventually, that will subtract from his appeal and perhaps reduce the willingness of the Marlins to make a long-term investment in him. Arraez reportedly rejected an extension offer from the Twins prior to 2022, though that was presumably far lower than any offer he would receive now. At that point, he was just about to go into arbitration for the first time and was coming off a relative down year in 2021. Since then, he’s had two excellent seasons while banking over $8MM.

If the Marlins do have interest in betting on Arraez for the long term, there is little stopping them at the moment. They don’t generally run high payrolls but also have almost nothing on the books in the future. Sandy Alcantara and Avisaíl García are the only players with contracts for 2025, with that being the last guaranteed year for Garcia.

Jorge Soler Drawing Interest From Multiple Clubs

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Free agent outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler is drawing interest from “around 6 teams,” reports Francys Romero, adding that the Marlins are interested in bringing him back on a multi-year deal.

Soler, 32 in February, is coming off a strong year though his overall career is defined by inconsistency. In 2023, he hit 36 home runs in 137 games while walking in 11.4% of his plate appearances. His 24.3% strikeout rate was slightly above league average but a strong result relative to his own previous seasons. His overall batting line of .250/.341/.512 resulted in a wRC+ of 126. He did most of that damage from the DH slot, only taking the field in 32 games on the year.

That was the best form Soler had shown since late 2021. That year, he hit just .192/.288/.370 for the Royals but then was traded to Atlanta and got in a good groove. He hit .269/.358/.524 in the regular season after the deal and then .242/.342/.606 in the postseason, winning World Series MVP in the process. That led to a three-year, $36MM deal with the Marlins, with Soler able to opt out after each season.

The first year with Miami didn’t go well, with injuries limiting him to 72 games and a tepid line of .207/.295/.400. He declined his first opt-out chance and returned to the Marlins before getting on track with the aforementioned strong 2023 season. He triggered his second opt-out and is now free to sign with any club, with this year’s market generally light on impact bats. MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Free Agents put Soler in the #16 slot with a prediction of three years and $45MM.

There would be risk in giving such a contract to a player like Soler with his oscillating results, but the market conditions should help him out and it’s unsurprising multiple clubs are interested. A return to Miami is sensible from their perspective since they could use his slugging ability. The club had a wRC+ of 94 in the season that just ended, which placed them just outside the bottom 10, and now face the possibility of losing their best power hitter in Soler.

Whether he’s a top priority would be a fair question to ask, however. Neither the shortstop nor catching position provided much for the Marlins in 2023 and those positions stand out as more important targets than corner outfield/designated hitter, where the club has Jesús Sánchez, Bryan De La Cruz and Avisaíl García. Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s payroll just under $100MM. Non-tendering a few players in their arbitration class such as Garrett Hampson and Jacob Stallings could knock that down a bit, but they would still be in range of last year’s payroll. Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimated their 2023 Opening Day payroll at $93MM, meaning the Marlins might need a sizeable increase to consider adding Soler, as well as finding solutions to their other weak spots.

Minor 40-Man Moves: Rodríguez, Vázquez, Nance

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It has been an extremely busy day at MLBTR, since today was the deadline for various roster machinations around the league. Free agency, both the major league and minor league variety, kicked off at 4:00 pm Central. That was also the deadline for decisions on various contract options, as well as the deadline for clubs to decide whether to issue qualifying offers to eligible players. Those deadlines led to many roster moves, some of which got lost in the shuffle. Here’s a post rounding up some moves that were missed throughout the day.

  • The Rays announced that they added right-hander Manuel Rodríguez to their 40-man roster, preventing him from reaching minor league free agency. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported on the move prior to the official announcement. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Cubs in a trade just before the deadline. He made 34 major league appearances with the Cubs over 2021 and 2022 but spent all of 2023 in the minors. Between the two clubs, he had a 3.99 ERA in 56 1/3 innings on the farm, striking out 32.4% of hitters against a 10.5% walk rate. The club also announced that infielder Tristan Gray, outfielder Raimel Tapia and right-hander Cole Sulser, all of whom were placed on waivers last week, cleared waivers and will become free agents.
  • The Cubs added infielder Luis Vázquez to their 40-man roster, per Meghan Montemurro of Chicago Tribune, to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. The 24-year-old has spent his entire professional career with the Cubs, having been selected by them in the 14th round of the 2017 draft. He split this year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .271/.361/.456 for a wRC+ of 112. He played the three infield position to the left of first base, giving the club some depth at those positions going forward.
  • The Marlins announced they sent right-hander Tommy Nance outright to Triple-A Jacksonville. The righty had an encouraging season for the Fish in 2022, making 35 appearances with a 4.33 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, a shoulder strain kept him on the injured list until August, at which point he was optioned, meaning he didn’t pitch in the majors in 2023. He also finished the year on the IL due to an oblique strain. His 17 innings in the minors resulted in a 1.59 ERA.

Marlins To Exercise Club Option On Jon Berti

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The Marlins are exercising their 2024 club option on utilityman Jon Berti, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. He’ll be paid a $3.625MM salary next year and will be arbitration-eligible one final time in the 2024-25 offseason before reaching free agency after the ’25 campaign.

Berti, 34 in January, has emerged as a utilityman extraordinaire in Miami, capably fielding three infield spots (second base, third base, shortstop) in addition to frequent work across all three outfield spots. He’s paired that versatility with excellent speed and baserunning value — 91 for his past 111 in steals, including an NL-best 41 in 2022 — and typically average or better production at the dish over the past five seasons.

Dating back to 2019, Berti is a .259/.338/.367 hitter in 1536 plate appearances. That production is weighed down by an off year in 2021, but Berti is fresh off a .294/.334/.405 showing that included a career-best seven home runs in a career-high 424 trips to the plate. He’d have remained arbitration-eligible and under club control through 2025 even if the Marlins had declined the option, but the strength of his 2023 performance likely would’ve ticketed him for a salary greater than the price of this affordable option. The Fish secured this option by agreeing to an eleventh-hour deal with Berti just before his arbitration hearing last offseason, and they’ll now avoid a potential hearing months in advance this time around.

Heading into the ’24 season, it’s unlikely that Berti will be penciled in for regular at-bats at one particular spot on the diamond, but his ability to bounce around in nearly seamless fashion should ensure that he’ll play a prominent role regardless of a nomadic defensive role on the roster. Between Berti, Josh Bell, Avisail Garcia and Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins have just over $41MM in guaranteed money on next year’s books, although a 13-player arbitration class — headlined by Luis Arraez, Jesus Luzardo and Tanner Scott — leads Roster Resource to project a payroll of more than $99MM.

Marlins Officially Hire Rays GM Peter Bendix As President Of Baseball Operations

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TODAY: The Marlins have officially announced Bendix’s hire. Principal owner Bruce Sherman spoke glowingly of Bendix in a press release, saying that “Peter is an established industry leader with an extensive skillset and deep experience that will continue the momentum we have made on the Major League level, while also strategic building the foundation for sustained success.”

Nov 5: The Marlins are set to hire Rays general manager Peter Bendix as the club’s next head of baseball operations, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough (links to X).  Rosenthal reported earlier tonight that Bendix was Miami’s “leading candidate” for the job, and Bendix has informed some Rays co-workers that he will be leaving for the Marlins job.

Bendix would become the latest in a long line of Tampa Bay executives hired away by other teams.  Andrew Friedman (Dodgers), Chaim Bloom (Red Sox), Matt Arnold (Brewers), and James Click (Astros) all got rival front office jobs due in part to the Rays’ consistent ability to draft and develop talent, all while fielding competitive teams on small player payrolls.  Other organizational attempts to replicate the Rays’ success has been somewhat mixed, though obviously Friedman and Click both won World Series titles with their teams.

The Rays’ track record is undoubtedly of interest to Marlins owner Bruce Sherman, who reportedly hasn’t been happy with how his team has been developing its younger talent.  These concerns led to Sherman’s plan of installing a new head of baseball operations above general manager Kim Ng, which resulted in Ng declining her end of a mutual option on her contract for the 2024 season.  It isn’t known if Bendix or any other candidates were already being targeted by Sherman prior to Ng’s departure, yet naturally Ng balked at the idea of suddenly being demoted after the Marlins reached the playoffs last season.  Rosenthal reports that Bloom was also on the Marlins’ radar, but the former Red Sox chief baseball officer declined to be a candidate for the Miami job.

This will be Bendix’s first time in full command of a front office, as Erik Neander is Tampa’s president of baseball operations, and former PBO Matt Silverman is now the team president.  Bendix has been a member of the Rays organization since starting as an intern in 2009, and worked his way up the ladder through multiple roles in the research and development department.  The 38-year-old Bendix earned a VP title in 2019 as the team’s director of baseball development, and was promoted to general manager just under two years ago.

Sherman’s purchase of the Marlins franchise in 2017 has led to quite a bit of front office turnover in that limited timeframe.  Michael Hill was kept on as the president of baseball operations, though CEO Derek Jeter was known to be making the bigger-picture baseball decisions as the team was going through a rebuild.  Ng was hired to be the GM when Hill’s contract was up after the 2020 season, but the picture was shaken up again when Jeter himself left prior to the 2022 campaign.

Jeter’s public statement that “the vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead” only led to more questions, and some reports suggested that Jeter wasn’t pleased with Sherman’s apparent desire to spend less on payroll, though that was apparently far from the only issue between the two.  The Marlins have increased spending to some extent under Ng, up to a $92.5MM Opening Day payroll in 2023 that still ranked 23rd of 30 teams.

However, even with the Marlins securing a wild card berth this past season, Sherman still wasn’t satisfied.  The hiring of Bendix now provides a full break from the Jeter era, and in theory makes it seem as if the Marlins will try to emulate Tampa Bay’s strategy of perpetual contention with modest spending.  This doesn’t mean that Sherman couldn’t green-light higher levels of spending than the Rays are accustomed to, yet it also doesn’t seem like the Marlins will exactly be approaching the luxury tax any time soon.

Adopting “the Rays’ plan” is far easier said that done, of course, and the next step will be seeing exactly how the Marlins will operate under Bendix in 2024.  Sandy Alcantara will miss all of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Jorge Soler is a free agent after opting out of his contract, and it can be argued that Miami’s 2023 club might have gotten to the postseason due more to good fortune than to championship pedigree.  The Marlins were outscored by a 723-666 margin, but enjoyed a whopping 33-14 record in one-run games.

As much as Miami fans would be exasperated at seeing another step back or some sort of rebuild, Bendix could be given perhaps at least a season to remake the team in his image, if restocking the farm system is a larger priority for Sherman than another playoff push.  Or, since the Fish already have a good deal of talent in place, Bendix might try to hit the ground running by trying to compete and add some prospect depth at the same time.

From the Rays’ perspective, they’ll have to again fill a hole in their front office.  Assistant GMs Chanda Lawdermilk, Will Cousins, and Carlos Rodriguez stand out as natural candidates to be promoted to the full general manager job as Neander’s new No. 2, though any number of candidates might emerge for a franchise that likes to promote from within.

Marlins Decline Club Options On Johnny Cueto, Matt Barnes

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As expected, the Marlins won’t be picking up their club options on two pitchers.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that Johnny Cueto’s $10.5MM option will be bought out for $2.5MM, and Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reports that Matt Barnes’ $9MM option will be bought out for $2.25MM.  (Both links to X.)

Cueto signed a one-year contract worth $8.5MM in guaranteed money last winter, as the Marlins saw the veteran righty as a way to add some experience and depth to an overall young rotation.  Unfortunately, the gambit didn’t pay off, as Cueto posted a 6.02 ERA while tossing only 52 1/3 innings over 13 appearances.  Right biceps tightness sent Cueto to the injured list for over the half the season, and he had a 15-day IL stint due to a viral infection at the end of August.

2024 will be Cueto’s 17th Major League season and his age-38 season, though there hasn’t been any indication that the right-hander is considering retirement.  He’ll probably have to settle for a minor league deal in the wake of his underwhelming year in Miami, but teams are forever in need of pitching, and Cueto will likely get another look to see if he has anything left in the tank.  As recently as 2022, Cueto had a 3.35 ERA in 158 1/3 innings with the White Sox, so a return to that form might be possible if he can just stay healthy.

Injuries also ruined Barnes’ season, as his 2023 campaign was prematurely ended by a hip surgery in July.  Barnes struggled to a 5.48 ERA in 21 1/3 innings prior to that IL trip.  Though a .348 BABIP and 4.35 SIERA indicated that Barnes was somewhat unlucky, he posted a below-average strikeout rate for the second consecutive season.

Between Barnes’ hip surgery, a shoulder injury in 2022, and generally a lot of up-and-down performance over the last three seasons, it was a pretty easy call for the Marlins to decline the option.  Miami acquired Barnes in a trade with the Red Sox last offseason, and Barnes’ two-year, $18.75MM deal was initially signed with the Sox back in July 2021.  Since Boston covered a good chunk of Barnes’ 2023 salary, it was a relatively risk-free move for the Marlins, especially since Richard Bleier (who went to the Sox in the trade) also didn’t pitch well last year.

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