The Marlins Are Still Facing Questions In Their Outfield
The Marlins came into 2023 with a fairly unsettled outfield mix, despite not making any external additions. The club planned to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. off second base in order to take over the center field job that they had been trying to fill for years. Veterans Jorge Soler and Avisaíl García were both coming off disappointing seasons, while a batch of younger player were still looking to establish themselves at the major league level.
Almost one month into the season, the Fish are swimming at a decent pace so far. They are currently 12-12, though with a -37 run differential that suggests they might be a bit lucky to be at that level. Then again, it’s still early and they’ve had a challenging schedule, with all of their games coming against teams that came into the season as surefire contenders or borderline ones (Seven against the Mets, three each against the Twins, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Giants and Guardians, two against Atlanta).
How are their outfielders faring so far? Let’s take a quick look at each one.
Chisholm hit .254/.325/.535 in 60 games last year for a wRC+ of 139 before a stress fracture in his back put him on the shelf. He perhaps could have returned late in the year, but the club was out of contention and shut him down, at which point Chisholm underwent surgery on a torn meniscus that he had been playing through.
Whether it’s due to the long layoff, the injuries or the position change, he hasn’t gotten into a groove at the plate yet this year. He’s currently hitting .218/.269/.391 for a wRC+ of 81. He’s struck out in 38.3% of his plate appearances thus far, a jump of more than 10 percentage points from his 27.4% rate last year.
As for that position change, the early reviews are mixed. Defensive Runs Saved has him at -1 so far, with Ultimate Zone Rating at -1.1. On the other hand, Outs Above Average has him at roughly par, 56th percentile. His outfielder jump is in the 84th percentile and his sprint speed is in the 92nd. Some growing pains were surely to be expected since he’s never played the position before, so hopefully these numbers will all trend in a positive direction over time.
Soler is perhaps the most mercurial player in the league, having spent the past few years oscillating between being one of the most feared sluggers on the planet and looking lost at the plate. Last year, his first with the Marlins, was a downswing. He struck out in 29.4% of his plate appearances and hit just .207/.295/.400 for a wRC+ of 98, missing significant time due to back spasms. He could have opted out of his contract but chose not to, likely a wise decision with that platform.
Here in 2023, he’s back on another one of his patented heaters. He’s hit five home runs already and has dropped his strikeout rate to a more manageable 23.6%. His .253/.337/.544 line amounts to a 137 wRC+. He’s largely served as the designated hitter but has been given five starts in right.
The torrid stretch for Soler is good for the Marlins in the short-term, but the long-term may be different. Soler has another opt-out opportunity after this season and would likely take it if he can maintain anything close to this pace, as he’d be walking away from just one year and $9MM.
García has a similarly inconsistent track record to Soler, posting above-average wRC+ figures in 2017, 2019 and 2021 but dipping below average in the following year each time. Last year was an especially low ebb, as his 28.7% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rates were both career worsts, as was his 66 wRC+ from his .224/.266/.317 batting line.
Now that we’re in an odd-numbered year, García is scheduled for a bounceback but has actually gotten worse in the early going so far. He’s slashing just .161/.200/.274 for a wRC+ of 30. The .211 batting average on balls in play is due for some regression, but he’s also been punched out 32.8% of the time while drawing walks at just a 3.0% clip. The Marlins desperately need him to turn things around, as his contract pays him $12MM per year through 2025, with a $12MM club option for 2026 that has a hefty $5MM buyout. Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the club haven’t considered releasing him, but a benching is on the table.
De La Cruz came into this year with 574 plate appearances. His 24.9% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate were both a little worse than average, but he had 18 home runs and a .269/.318/.430 line for a 108 wRC+. He’s a little bit ahead of that pace this year, currently hitting .295/.341/.436 for a 114 wRC+ with fairly similar strikeout and walk rates.
He won’t maintain a .396 batting average on balls in play all year, but he is making solid contact. His average exit velocity is in the 88th percentile of MLB hitters, and his hard-hit rate sits in the 80th percentile. Even without elite plate discipline, he can still be a useful hitter with that kind of bat. The right-hander hitter actually has reverse splits, both in his career and so far this season, which would seem to lessen the likelihood of him ending up in the short side of a platoon.
The hot start of De La Cruz seems to have cut into the playing time of Sánchez, as he’s been given only 36 plate appearances in 16 games. He’s hit just .172/.333/.241 in that time, which isn’t doing much to get him in the lineup more.
A left-handed hitter, he has traditional platoon splits for his career. He’s hit .226/.310/.440 against righties for a 108 wRC+, but he has a dismal .195/.230/.323 against southpaws for a 49 wRC+. He could seemingly serve as a useful platoon lefty bat but probably won’t get a chance as long as De La Cruz continues to seem like a viable lineup regular. He’s out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without first being exposed to waivers, which might keep him on the bench until an injury opens a spot for him. Per Jackson and Mish, Sanchez is at risk of losing his roster spot, though the club won’t make a decision on that front until Joey Wendle is back from the injured list.
Burdick got to make his major league debut last year and hit .207/.284/.380 for a wRC+ of 91 in 102 plate appearances. He’s been in Triple-A this year and utterly mashing. Through 20 games, he has a line of .309/.385/.654 and a 157 wRC+. He has a 37.4% strikeout rate and won’t sustain a .436 batting average on balls in play, but he’s already hit eight home runs and stolen four bases.
Encarnación also got a brief major league debut last year, stepping to the plate 81 times but hitting just .182/.210/.338. Like Burdick, he’s also having an excellent start to his 2023 in Triple-A. He has a current batting line of .292/.378/.472 for a wRC+ of 119. However, it’s bolstered by a huge .529 batting average on balls in play and comes despite a 42.7% strikeout rate. His 12.2% walk rate is encouraging but there’s surely some regression coming here.
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It’s hard to glean definitive judgment from one month’s worth of data, but there are some trends and takeaways in the Miami outfield with nearly 15% of the season in the books. Chisholm’s defense in center has been at least passable thus far, so he’s likely to continue on in that role. De La Cruz could hit his way into an everyday role in left field, but right field looks like a continued problem unless Garcia can correct what’s now more than a full season’s worth of struggles. Sanchez’s grip on a roster spot appears tenuous, but while the primary alternatives in Triple-A (Burdick, Encarnacion) have flashy batting lines, their lack of contact calls into question whether they’d be improvements. It’s easy enough to see the outfield again being a point of focus at the trade deadline, whether the Marlins are looking to add a veteran bat to stay in the Wild Card race or looking to acquire a controllable outfielder as part of another selling effort.
East Notes: Fried, Bello, Red Sox, Donaldson, Bader, Garcia
Left-hander Max Fried is slated to make his return to the mound on Monday, when the Braves open up a three-game series against the Padres. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) that Fried will be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to the game. Fried will end up missing only 16 days due to a strained left hamstring, as he went to the IL on April 4 but with a backdated placement of April 1, so ensure a quicker return as long as the hamstring issue turned out to be pretty minimal.
With Fried and Kyle Wright now healthy, Atlanta’s rotation is more or less back in its expected form, with Fried, Wright, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton comprising the top four, and Bryce Elder pitching well in a bid to cement his spot. The Braves had planned to use Jared Shuster or Dylan Dodd as the fifth starter heading into the season, but while the two rookies have struggled against MLB hitters, while Elder has an impressive 1.53 ERA over three starts and 17 2/3 innings.
More from both the NL and AL East divisions…
- Brayan Bello is also expected to be activated from the 15-day IL on Monday, as the Red Sox righty will make his season debut in a start against the Angels. Bello dealt with some forearm tightness early in Spring Training, which delayed his ramp-up enough that a short IL stint was necessary to open the season. With Bello expected to be a regular starter, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier suggested that the Sox might utilize a six-man rotation until their next off-day on April 27, in order to give a bit more rest to a pitching staff that hasn’t many good results early in the season. Tanner Houck might ultimately be the odd man out of the rotation, and while Houck told Speier that he would prefer to stay as a starter, “I don’t have much say over it. We’ll have conversations, but I can only go out there and compete and put my best foot forward and continue to fight for the spot.”
- The Yankees are likely to activate Josh Donaldson from the 10-day IL on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone told ESPN’s Marly Rivera and other reporters. Donaldson will play in a minor league rehab game on Tuesday and then take the field against the Angels on Wednesday. A right hamstring strain sent Donaldson (retroactively) to the injured list on April 6, and his return will provide some relief to a lineup that is missing Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader. In Bader’s case, he has been working out and taking part in baseball activities at Yankee Stadium, and Boone indicated that a minor league rehab assignment might begin this week as Bader makes his way back from a left oblique strain.
- X-rays were negative on Avisail Garcia‘s right wrist after the Marlins outfielder was hit while swinging at a pitch in today’s game. Jesus Sanchez had to replace Garcia to finish the rest of the plate appearance, but Garcia looks to have avoided serious injury, even if the Marlins might hold him out a day or two to monitor the wrist. After a rough first season in Miami, Garcia’s struggles have continued in 2023, as he has hit only .162/.225/.270 over his first 41 plate appearances.
Injury Notes: Duvall, Marte, Marlins
Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall left his game after suffering an apparent wrist injury while making a diving play in center field, as noted by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. As noted by Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe, Duvall had x-rays done on his wrist, the same one on which he underwent season-ending surgery in 2022, following his exit from today’s game. No results have been announced regarding Duvall’s x-ray. Duvall signed with the club this past offseason on a one-year, $7MM guarantee.
Should Duvall miss significant time, Boston figures to rely on some combination of Raimel Tapia and Jarren Duran in center field, though the heavily left-handed Red Sox could also give Yu Chang additional starts at shortstop, allowing Enrique Hernandez to move from the infield back into center field, where he spent the majority of the past two seasons. Regardless of who ultimately replaces Duvall in the lineup, any missed time would be a real blow to Boston’s offense early in the season, as Duvall has raked to open the 2023 campaign. In his first 33 plate appearances this season, Duvall has slashed a whopping .483/.545/1.138 with four home runs, five doubles, and a triple while either scoring or knocking in 25 of the club’s 55 runs.
More injury updates…
- Starling Marte left today’s game against the Marlins after the first inning due to what the Mets described as a neck strain. Marte suffered the injury while stealing third base in the bottom of the first, as Marte’s slide took him headfirst into the knee of Miami third baseman Jean Segura. He remained in the game for the remainder of the inning, but Jeff McNeil moved from second base to take Marte’s spot in the right field for the top of the second. Manager Buck Showalter expressed optimism regarding Marte, telling reporters (including Laura Albanese of Newsday) “so far so good” as it pertains to Marte having avoided a concussion. Any missed time by Marte seems likely to benefit outfielder Tommy Pham in terms of playing time, though it’s also possible that the club could call up a player like Danny Mendick to take some starts if Marte requires a trip to the injured list.
- The Marlins had a pair of players leave today’s game as well, with Avisail Garcia exiting the game with what was termed “left hamstring soreness”, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson, while J.T. Chargois exited with an apparent injury just three pitches into the seventh inning. Chargois, who the Marlins acquired from the Rays via trade back in November, has been a useful reliever in recent years, recording a 2.36 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 80 innings since the start of the 2021 season. Garcia, on the other hand, is entering the second season of a four-year deal he signed with the Marlins prior to the 2021 season that he has struggled to live up to to this point. Despite entering the contract as a career 104 wRC+ hitter coming off a strong 29-homer season in 2021 where he posted a wRC+ of 116, Garcia has slashed just .216/.259/.310 (62 wRC+) in his first 106 games as a Marlin, with a 28.9% strikeout rate above his career norms and just nine home runs.
Marlins Select Jordan Groshans
4:13pm: Miami cleared the active roster spot by placing Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring issue, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Garcia has had a rough first season in South Florida, hitting only .230/.267/.316 through 357 plate appearances.
11:30am: The Marlins are planning to select the contract of infielder Jordan Groshans, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Groshans is not currently on Miami’s 40-man roster, though they already have a vacancy there. A corresponding move will be required to get Groshans onto the active roster.
Groshans, 22, is a former first round pick of the Blue Jays, getting selected 12th overall in 2018. He played 48 games in rookie ball after that draft and jumped onto Baseball America’s top 100 list, coming in at #89 going into 2019. Groshans then went to A-ball and mashed to the tune of .337/.427/.482, though was limited to just 23 games by a foot injury. BA continued to believe in the results and bumped him all the way up to #29 on their list going into 2020.
After the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues that year, Groshans came into 2021 having only played 23 games over the previous two years. He spent the year at Double-A and showed little rust, at least in terms of putting the bat on the ball, walking in 10.8% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 19.3% of them. However, a back injury limited him to 75 games and seemed to prevent him from providing much power. He hit seven long balls in that time but still put up a healthy batting line of .291/.367/.450, wRC+ of 124.
Coming into 2022, he slid off of BA’s top 100 but was still considered the #4 prospect in Toronto’s system. Their report complimented his feel for the strike zone and all-fields approach but raised concerns about his power potential and inability to stay healthy for a full season. The Jays had Groshans in Triple-A for most of the year, where did manage to stay healthy but still struggled to bring much pop. In 67 games for the Bisons, he walked at a 12.5% rate and struck out just 16.5% of the time but went over the fence just once. That led to a slash line of .250/.348/.296, wRC+ of 81.
The Jays flipped Groshans to the Marlins just prior to the deadline, getting Anthony Bass, Zach Pop and Edward Duran (as a player who was named later) in return. Since then, Groshans has played 31 games for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, hitting .301/.398/.416. That’s a much nicer looking slash line than what he did in Buffalo, though it includes just another two home runs, bringing his season total to three.
Groshans is currently listed as the #9 Marlins prospect at Baseball America, #11 at FanGraphs and #12 at MLB Pipeline. All three reports highlight the quality strike zone work but raise concerns about the lack of power. Whether his profile at the plate proves useful might depend on his eventual defensive position. Groshans has primarily been a shortstop in his career thus far, though also played elsewhere on the infield. Since acquiring him, the Marlins have split his time almost evenly between second, third and short. Most reports suggest he’s better suited to third base than shortstop, which would mean he’d need to take a step forward in the power department. Corner infielders are generally expected to provide more thump than their counterparts up the middle, making the overall Groshans package an unusual one at the moment.
For the Marlins, they came into this season with designs on competing. Their pitching was in good shape but they knew they needed to improve the lineup, adding Jorge Soler, Avisail Garcia, Joey Wendle and Jacob Stallings. Unfortunately, all four of that group has fallen short of expectations, with many of Miami’s in-house options also struggling. The team as a whole has hit .229/.294/.361 for a wRC+ of 86 that’s 27th in the majors. That’s a big reason why the club has limped to a 58-83 record this year and are well out of contention.
With just about three weeks left on the schedule, the Fish can use that time to evaluate some younger players before deciding on their offseason plan of attack. Groshans will step into an infield mix that includes Wendle, Jon Berti, Brian Anderson, Miguel Rojas, Garrett Cooper and Charles Leblanc. There’s also Jazz Chisholm Jr., who won’t return this season due to a back injury but figures to be the regular second baseman next year.
For Groshans, it’s possible that the extended absences from the pandemic and his injuries have prevented him from getting into a good grove and he’s still blossoming. He’s also still just 22 years old, turning 23 in November, giving him time to develop different facets of his game. For a Marlins club that’s been searching for offense for quite some time, they will be hoping he can find that extra gear. With Wendle, Anderson, Rojas and Cooper all slated for free agency after 2023, there could be plenty of openings for a long-term job if he does.
Injury Notes: García, Oller, Iglesias
The Marlins activated outfielder Avisaíl García from the injured list today, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, after missing over a month due to a hamstring strain. Fellow outfielder Peyton Burdick was optioned in a corresponding move.
It’s been a disappointing season for García, the first of a four-year, $53MM deal he signed with with the Marlins. The Fish were surely hoping García could add some thump to their lineup after he hit 29 homers with the Brewers last year and slashed .262/.330/.490 for a wRC+ of 115. But he’s hit just seven long balls in 88 games this year, producing an overall line of .232/.269/.322, wRC+ of 68.
The Marlins are 17 1/2 games out of a playoff spot now and won’t be playing for much down the stretch. But García will look to get back into a groove and finish the season strong, going into the winter with some momentum and optimism for 2023.
Some other injury notes from around the league…
- The Athletics announced a series of roster moves today, one of which was placing righty Adam Oller on the 15-day injured list. Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle relays that Oller’s IL placement is due to “right rib costochondritis.” The club hasn’t provided a timeline for the hurler, but he’ll miss at least the next couple of weeks. Since there’s only about four weeks remaining on the schedule, it’s possible that he’s done for the year. Acquired from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade, Oller made his MLB debut this year, tossing 73 1/3 innings with a 6.01 ERA, 13.4% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and 31.7% ground ball rate.
- The Rockies placed infielder José Iglesias on the 10-day injured list today due to a right hand contusion. Iglesias signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the Rockies in the offseason and became the first shortstop atop Colorado’s depth chart not named “Tulowitzki” or “Story” since 2006. He’s having another season typical of his career, providing solid defense while hitting a bit below league average. His batting line for the year is .300/.337/.392, producing a wRC+ of 92. Though that’s 8% below league average, his defensive contributions have allowed him to rack up 1.4 fWAR on the year. This offseason will feature another batch of superstar shortstops, including Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts, assuming those latter two opt out of their respective contracts. Iglesias isn’t quite at their level but will be in the next tier down, next to players like Elvis Andrus. With Iglesias out of the lineup the past three days, Alan Trejo has been slotted into the shortstop position.
Injury Notes: Skubal, Bednar, Garcia
The Tigers placed starter Tarik Skubal on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, due to arm fatigue. The southpaw left his start on Monday after feeling the fatigue, and he’ll now be out for at least the next two weeks. Skubal indicated on Monday he didn’t anticipate missing any additional starts. That obviously won’t be the case, but there’s no indication the club is acting out of anything more than an abundance of caution in skipping a couple of his turns through the rotation. Detroit’s already looking ahead towards 2023, and there’s little reason to press the issue with one of their top young arms unless he’s completely healthy.
Few players in the organization are as impactful as Skubal, who has taken a significant step in his second full MLB season. Through 117 2/3 innings, he carries a 3.52 ERA with an above-average 24.5% strikeout rate and 45.7% ground-ball percentage. Skubal has demonstrated strong control, and, perhaps most importantly, is allowing just 0.67 homers per nine innings pitched. He allowed more than two homers per nine last season, the main contributor to a 4.34 ERA that’s almost a run higher than this season’s mark.
Some other notes on injured list placements:
- Pirates closer David Bednar landed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 31, due to lower back inflammation. There’s no specific timetable for his return, but Pittsburgh director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters that Bednar had been pushing to pitch through the issue (via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). That’d seemingly indicate the 27-year-old Bednar doesn’t consider the issue too serious, but the club is taking a cautious approach. Bednar has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top relievers this season, his second with the Bucs after heading over from the Padres in the Joe Musgrove trade over the 2020-21 offseason. The big right-hander has a sub-3.00 ERA in both seasons as a Pirate, including a 2.70 mark with an excellent 33.5% strikeout rate through 46 2/3 frames this year.
- The Marlins placed outfielder Avisaíl García on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Designated hitter/first baseman Garrett Cooper was activated from a minimal IL stint of his own to take the active roster spot. The club hasn’t provided a timetable on García’s absence. Signed to a four-year deal over the offseason, García has had a rough first season in South Florida. Across 342 plate appearances, he owns a meager .232/.269/.322 line with seven home runs — a marked drop in power production from last year’s 29-homer campaign with the Brewers. The 31-year-old is also striking out at a career-worst 27.8% clip and walking in only 3.8% of his trips to the dish. Miami had hoped that multi-year free agent signings of García and Jorge Soler would invigorate a lackluster offense, but both right-handed hitters have underwhelmed during their initial seasons of those deals.
Marlins Make Three Roster Moves
The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves this morning, including the reinstatement of Avisail Garcia from the COVID-related injured list. Miami also designated infielder Joe Dunand for assignment to create a 40-man roster space, while right-hander Cody Poteet was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a muscle injury in his right elbow.
Garcia returns after just a two-day absence, indicating that his placement on the COVID-IL was precautionary or due to virus symptoms, but not an actual positive test. The outfielder will return from his brief break and look to get his season turned around, as Garcia has slashed a meager .207/.237/.290 over his first 152 plate appearances in a Marlins uniform.
Pitching in his second MLB season, Poteet has a 2.42 ERA and 55.7% grounder rate over 26 innings in 2022. Most of that work has come out of the bullpen as a long reliever, but two of Poteet’s last three outings were starts, as Miami has needed a replacement for the injured Jesus Luzardo. Poteet’s last appearance on May 25 didn’t go well, as the Rays tagged him for five runs over three innings of work in a 5-4 Marlins loss.
With Poteet now sidelined for at least the next 15 days, there will be more speculation about which of the Marlins’ promising young arms could be called up to the big league rotation. Since top prospect Max Meyer is recovering from ulnar nerve irritation, Edward Cabrera could be the logical candidate, as Cabrera last pitched on May 26. Between a visa issue in Spring Training and then a biceps injury, Cabrera didn’t pitch until April 27, but he has since banked six minor league starts and a combined 3.90 ERA over 27 2/3 innings.
As for Luzardo himself, it isn’t yet clear when the southpaw could return from his forearm strain. Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola) today that Luzardo’s recovery is “not as good as we would’ve liked,” as the left-hander has yet to begin throwing. Luzuardo’s IL stint is backdated to May 12, so he is already beyond the 15-day minimum period.
Dunand made his MLB debut this season, appearing in three games with the Marlins and delivering a 1.064 OPS over his 11 plate appearances. The Miami native doesn’t have a standout minor league track record, so the Marlins could be betting that another team won’t put in a waiver claim on the 26-year-old Dunand. That said, Dunand also has a lot of experience as a third baseman and shortstop plus a few games at the other two infield positions, so a club in need of infield depth might check him out on the DFA wire.
Marlins Notes: Reynolds, Hernandez, Bullpen, Neidert, Sixto
The Marlins were on the hunt for outfield upgrades all winter, eventually culminating in multi-year free agent deals with Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler. Neither player required parting with young talent, but the Fish looked into potential higher-impact acquisitions on the trade market.
Miami has long had interest in prying star center fielder Bryan Reynolds from Pittsburgh, and Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald shed some light on the teams’ discussions. The Bucs and Marlins discussed permutations that would’ve involved top shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson — Miami’s first-round pick last summer — headed back as part of a deal. However, Jackson and Mish write that the Marlins balked at including both Watson and 2020 #3 overall pick Max Meyer in a Reynolds trade.
Baseball America placed both Watson and Meyer among the back half of their Top 100 prospects this winter. Watson, a lefty-hitting shortstop with big bat speed and athleticism, fell to the Marlins at 16th in last year’s draft but signed for the 10th-highest bonus. That better reflected how evaluators viewed him as an amateur prospect, and he’s generally regarded as one of the highest-upside players in the minors. Meyer, meanwhile, has one of the minors’ best fastball-slider combinations and struck out 27.2% of Double-A hitters in his first full pro season. Prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his size and command consistency, but he boasts a high-octane arsenal and isn’t that far from MLB readiness.
Parting with both Watson and Meyer would’ve been quite a blow to the Miami farm system, but it reflects the huge asking price the Pirates can justifiably set with four years of arbitration control over Reynolds. Reports going back to last summer’s trade deadline have suggested the Bucs preferred to build around him rather than move him. Reynolds told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) this afternoon the Pirates haven’t approached him about an extension this offseason, and they’re set to go to an arbitration hearing to determine his 2022 salary after not agreeing to terms yesterday. Still, the 27-year-old downplayed the notion that a hearing could affect his relationship with the organization. “I’m an adult,” he said. “I can handle it. I don’t care. I have a pretty good idea of what’ll be said and all that. We’ll prepare, and we’ll be fine.”
Jackson and Mish write the Marlins and Pirates may eventually revisit trade talks, although it’ll again be difficult to pry him out of Pittsburgh. The Herald reports the Marlins also had some pre-lockout discussions with the Blue Jays regarding corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández, but those conversations are no longer active. Soler’s signing to play right field would seem to close the door on the possibility of Miami making a run at another corner outfielder/DH option like Hernández.
Speaking with reporters (including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com) this afternoon, general manager Kim Ng expressed her confidence in the Miami outfield. She pointed to García and Bryan De La Cruz as options to see some time in center field, while Jackson and Mish write that Jesús Sánchez could get a look there as well. Ng didn’t expressly rule out the possibility of further moves on the position player side, but she suggested it was more likely they’d look to add another arm to the bullpen.
“As I mentioned, the bat was first and foremost, and making sure that we secured that and what the parameters of that looked like,” Ng said (via De Nicola). “And now we’re definitely focused on relievers. I will say that I’ve gotten some nice reports on some of the guys here, so we might be able to pull from within as well.”
Among those internal possibilities is right-hander Nick Neidert. A well-regarded starting pitching prospect early in his career, Neidert has yet to find success in 44 MLB innings. The Marlins are deep in rotation options, and manager Don Mattingly told reporters today that Neidert will transition to a bullpen role (De Nicola link). Despite his profile as a changeup specialist — which theoretically should aid him against opposite-handed batters — Neidert has been hit at a .314/.444/.500 clip by lefties in the majors. He was similarly ineffective against southpaws in Triple-A last season (.306/.393/.471), and the bullpen role may afford Mattingly the opportunity to deploy him more often with the platoon advantage.
At present, the Marlins look likely to open the year with a starting five of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo López, Elieser Hernández and Jesús Luzardo. That’s a particularly strong top end, and Miami has high-upside young arms like Meyer, Edward Cabrera and Sixto Sánchez who could factor into the mix at some point.
Sánchez has already had some MLB success, but he missed the entire 2021 season due to injury and will also begin this year on the injured list as he recovers from last July’s shoulder surgery. De Nicola tweets that the fireballing 23-year-old is currently a third of the way through a six-week shutdown period. Given that he won’t even pick up a ball until at least a few weeks into the season, it seems likely he’ll spend a fairly significant amount of time on the IL to open the year.
Latest On Marlins’ Outfield
The Marlins headed into the offseason looking for at least one outfield upgrade and checked one addition off the box prior to the lockout when securing Avisail Garcia on a four-year, $53MM contract. They’re still hoping to add “at least one more” outfielder when the current transaction freeze lifts, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald writes, which meshes well with recent reports tying the Fish to myriad outfield options.
They were linked, to varying extents, free-agent options such as Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Eddie Rosario even after adding Garcia. On the trade front, they’re reported to have interest in D-backs star Ketel Marte. One note of importance in their search to add to the outfield mix, via a second column from McPherson, is that general manager Kim Ng suggested the team believes the newly signed Garcia can play regularly in center field, if needed.
Miami doesn’t have a true, everyday center fielder at present, and at least ostensibly, the Marlins look to be carrying quite a few corner-only outfielders (e.g. Garcia, Jesus Sanchez, Garrett Cooper). Deadline acquisition Bryan De La Cruz has some experience in center (629 innings between MLB and the minors), but a good portion of that (199 innings) came out of necessity with the Marlins late last season. Meanwhile, he has just shy of 3000 career innings in right field and another 723 in left field, suggesting that the Astros –who traded him to Miami in the Yimi Garcia deal this past July — viewed him as mostly a corner option, at the very least.
A willingness to play Garcia in center field would open up the Fish to adding another corner option. To that end, it’s worth noting that MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggested last week on his Big Time Baseball Podcast that Miami “may end up with Rosario” being their preferred option as a second outfield pickup. Both Rosario and Garcia have played a fair bit of center field in their careers, so if the former indeed joins the latter in Miami, perhaps both could see occasional time there.
Following the Marlins’ signing of Garcia and their pre-lockout trades to acquire catcher Jacob Stallings and infielder Joey Wendle, Miami has $23.8MM in guaranteed payroll and a projected Opening Day payroll of about $69MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez (including arbitration-eligible players and pre-arb players). That’d be a jump of about $12MM from last year’s stripped-down roster, but even for a typically low-payroll club like the Marlins, there’s room to add onto that mark. The Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter ownership group has in the past been reported to be planning a gradual payroll uptick as the team emerges from a rebuilding effort. The Garcia signing, the Sandy Alcantara extension and the acquisitions of some arb-eligible players with salaries of relative note (Stallings, Wendle) all support that line of thinking.
Marlins Sign Avisail Garcia
TODAY: The Marlins officially announced the signing. The contract details are provided by Jon Heyman, who notes that Miami’s 2026 club option is worth $12MM, with a $5MM buyout. Garcia will earn an even $12MM in each of the 2022-25 seasons, and he will also donate $120K per year to the Marlins’ team charity.
NOVEMBER 28: The Marlins have agreed to a four-year contract with free agent Avisail Garcia, SportsGrid’s Craig Mish reports (via Twitter). Garcia will earn $53MM, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Garcia is represented by Mato Sports Management.
Mish notes that this is the largest contract the Marlins have handed out under owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter, who purchased the team more than four years ago. The Marlins are “far from done,” tweets Mish. Garcia joins Jesus Sanchez in the Marlins’ outfield, after the club reportedly made a strong push to bring Starling Marte back before he signed with the Mets. The Marlins continue to sit on perhaps the game’s best starting pitching surplus, suggesting GM Kim Ng may solve some of the team’s other needs on the trade market.
MLBTR had predicted a three-year, $36MM contract for Garcia, who managed to snag an extra year and a better average annual value. Garcia’s contract is exactly double that of Mark Canha, who signed with the Mets two days ago at the same $13.25MM AAV. Garcia, 31 in June, posted a fine 115 wRC+ in 135 games for the Brewers this year. Garcia’s two-year, $20MM contract with the Brewers included a provision that converted a $12MM club option into a mutual one once he reached a certain plate appearance threshold in September. That allowed Garcia to become a free agent. Likely fearing acceptance, the budget-conscious Brewers elected not to make the one-year, $18.4MM qualifying offer.
Garcia has had an up-and-down career since signing with the Tigers for $200K as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela back in 2007. The toolsy outfielder reached the Majors as a 21-year-old in 2012 and was traded to the White Sox the following year as part of a three-team deal that sent Jake Peavy to the Red Sox and Jose Iglesias to Detroit. Garcia fell short of expectations in Chicago until a BABIP-driven 138 wRC+ in 2017. After a down 2018 season that culminated in knee surgery, the White Sox chose not to tender Garcia a contract with a projected $8MM arbitration salary looming.
The Rays swooped in with a one-year, $3.5MM free agent contract for Garcia, who rode a 113 wRC+ in 2019 to the aforementioned two-year contract with Milwaukee. It’s fair to question why, two years later, Garcia is coming off a similar season and managed to secure $33MM more than last time. Interestingly, Marte was reportedly “seeking a three- or four-year deal in the $50 million range” back in July when the Marlins attempted to extend him, according to Jordan McPherson and Craig Mish in the Miami Herald. The Marlins didn’t get there, trading Marte for Jesus Luzardo before attempting to sign him back last week. It’s been an odd sequence of events for the Marlins, who ended up with Garcia for a similar price to what Marte might have cost.
The answer to Garcia’s appeal might lie in Statcast, where his top of the charts numbers have always hinted at something more. This year, he ranked in the 73rd percentile for average exit velocity, 98th for maximum exit velocity, 78th for hard hit percentage, and 80th for barrel rate. Garcia simply hits the ball very hard, even if this year’s 29 home runs represented a career best. Garcia pairs his hard-hitting with 88th percentile sprint speed, so his is a rare blend of athleticism. Defensively, Garcia has been a bit below average in Outs Above Average over the past few years.
We’ve seen a flurry of hot stove activity today with three days remaining until the collective bargaining agreement expires, with December 1st serving as a transaction deadline of sorts. Today alone, we’ve seen free agent contracts for Marcus Semien, Corey Kluber, and Garcia, as well as an extension for Byron Buxton. After the CBA expires, ownership is widely expected to lock out the players and freeze free agency, speculatively until the eve of spring training in February. This has created an unprecedented urgency from teams in free agency, resulting in many November contracts that have exceeded expectations.