Marlins make first move of the offseason by keeping key veteran outfielder for 2021
Major League Baseball’s offseason has barely begun, and the Miami Marlins have already made their first move to keep a key player from their playoff run.
The Marlins are picking up outfielder Starling Marte’s $12.5 million option for the 2021 season, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
The news is more of a formality than anything. The Marlins acquired Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline in exchange for three pitchers — Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejia and Julio Frias — and have said on multiple occasions that their intention was to bring him back next season.
“We moved some very talented players in our mind to get Marte,” CEO Derek Jeter said recently. “So that is the plan to bring him back. I don’t want to lock it in. But we wouldn’t have made a decision like that if it was just for a couple of weeks. I would say our plan moving forward is definitely to have Marte come back.”
Marte, a 32-year-old, one-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner, had been a steadying presence in center field and in the No. 2 spot of Miami’s lineup while helping fortify an offense that has looked sluggish at times. He posted a .245 batting average with four home runs, six doubles and 13 RBI in 28 regular-season games with the Marlins.
He hit a go-ahead home run in his first game with the club, an eighth-inning rocket that went 438 feet to left-center field off Toronto Blue Jays reliever Shun Yamaguchi to clinch a 3-2 win on Sept. 1. He hit a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning against Phillies reliever Brandon Workman on Sept. 10 to set the stage for Jorge Alfaro’s ninth-inning walk-off single.
However, he sustained a fractured left pinkie in the wild card round of the playoffs after being hit on the hand by a 92.2 mph sinker by Cubs reliever Dan Winkler. Marte missed Miami’s best-of-5 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins were swept in the series, losing 9-5 in Game 1 before being shut out 2-0 in Game 2 and 7-0 in Game 3.
Another option looming
Marte was one of two players the team had decisions to make regarding player options at the start of the offseason. A decision is still pending on closer Brandon Kintzler, who has a $4 million team option with a $225,000 buyout. The deadline to exercise Kintzler’s option is Sunday.
Kintzler, 36, converted 12 of 14 save opportunities during the regular season and recorded a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings over 22 appearances out of the bullpen. The righty held opponents to a .236 batting average. He recorded the final outs for both the Marlins’ win over the Yankees to clinch their first playoff appearance since 2003 and for both wins over the Cubs in the best-of-3 wild card series to begin the postseason.
Figuring out the 40-man roster
With the offseason officially underway, six players who finished the season with the Marlins are now officially free agents: Brad Boxberger, Francisco Cervelli, Logan Forsythe, Matt Joyce, Sean Rodriguez and Nick Vincent are free agents. The Marlins still have exclusive negotiating rights with those half dozen players through Sunday, after which each player is able to start negotiating with any of the other 29 clubs.
The Marlins also reinstated pitchers Brandon Liebrandt, Brian Moran and Drew Steckenrider from the 60-day injured list and outrighted them to Triple-A Wichita. Steckenrider and Moran elected free agency.
Regardless of what happens over the next few days, the Marlins have work to do to get their 40-man roster down to size.
When factoring in the rest of the players who ended 2020 on the 60-day injured list or the COVID-19 Related IL, the Marlins have 44 players who will count toward their 40-man roster.
Other offseason dates of note
▪ Dec. 2: The deadline for teams to tender contracts to players still on their rookie contracts. This includes players who are in arbitration. Miami has eight players set for arbitration this offseason: Alfaro, third baseman Brian Anderson, first basemen Garrett Cooper and Jesus Aguilar, and pitchers Richard Bleier, Yimi Garcia, Ryne Stanek and Jose Urena.
▪ Dec. 6-10: The 2020 Winter Meetings, tentatively set to take place in Dallas although the status of the in-person event is up in the air due to COVID-19.
▪ Dec. 10: The Rule 5 Draft.
▪ Jan. 15: The final day for teams and arbitration-eligible players to work out a deal. If agreements aren’t reached, each side has to submit contract figures to a panel of arbitrators, which will make the final decision on which salary the player will receive.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 9:27 AM.
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