As Marlins prepare for ‘active conversations,’ a look at their plan to attack the offseason
The Miami Marlins know the needs that have to be addressed this offseason.
And they know what will be required of them as they attempt to address those needs.
“There will be active conversations,” CEO Derek Jeter said during the final weekend of the regular season.
“Conversations,” after all, are the only thing he can guarantee when it comes to free agency. The players on the other side of the talks have to agree to sign with the Marlins.
How do the Marlins, a team that went 67-95 in the fourth year of their rebuild under the Jeter and Bruce Sherman ownership group, plan to win these players? Their message, as has been the case the past few years, is centering on the long-term.
Sell them on the pitching staff, the group led by Sandy Alcantara that is set up to be the organization’s backbone for years to come.
Sell them on the farm system, that the top position player prospects they will be working with are going to take the next step sooner than later. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jesus Sanchez, Lewin Diaz and Bryan De La Cruz, among others, showed glimpses of that this season.
And sell them on finishing the process, that they are the final pieces needed to get the team over the hump.
“I think if you’re a free agent out there,” general manager Kim Ng said, “you’re looking at, ‘OK, I’m going to be somewhere for multiple years,’ [the thought process is] who’s not [losing] significant free agents next year or the year after? Who’s got a bright future, not just for next year, but we’ve talked about a sustainable championship-caliber team. I believe that’s what we can be and what we are striving to be. We have the great foundation for that to happen. I think if you just look beyond what happened this past year, and look to the future, I think there’s consensus in the industry that we have a good core of young players that will help catapult us forward.”
Whether that’s the reality will manifest itself throughout the offseason, but the Marlins understand they need players to supplement those up-and-coming prospects.
Most of the conversations, whether via free agency or trade, should center on bolstering an offense that was among MLB’s worst in just about every major statistical category. The plan, according to Ng, is to get “multiple bats” before the 2022 season begins.
Outfielder and catcher are the club’s two biggest areas of need.
The Marlins have more money to spend, relatively speaking. Between their new TV contract with Bally Sports Florida and their stadium naming rights deal with loanDepot, the club has about $35 million in additional revenue this offseason that was not available beforehand. The team’s payroll for 2021 was just more than $58 million. How much of that new revenue will go into the payroll is to be determined.
As the roster stands right now, only two contracts are fully on the books for next season: shortstop Miguel Rojas at $5 million and late-inning reliever Anthony Bass at $3 million.
The Marlins have 11 players on their 40-man roster eligible for arbitration, a group estimated to make a combined $33.4 million next year based on MLB Trade Rumors projections should all be tendered contracts for next year (which isn’t guaranteed). All other players inside the organization at this point are expected to make at or slightly above the MLB minimum salary.
“We can’t go out and spend foolishly, I guess is the best way to put it,” Jeter said. “We expect to have these conversations. Where these conversations lead, I have no idea. There’s two sides, but we expect to be active.”
This and that
▪ Rojas announced recently on “Miami Mic’d Up,” Bally Sports’ in-house podcast, that he will not need surgery on his left index finger that he injured May 27 against the Philadelphia Phillies when diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt. He missed 18 games because of the injury and played with the finger heavily taped for the final three-and-a-half months of the season.
▪ In order to free up space to add players back from the 60-day injured list to the 40-man roster, Miami outrighted seven players to the minor leagues during the past two weeks: infielders Eddy Alvarez and Deven Marrero; pitchers Jeff Brigham, Jorge Guzman, Andrew Bellatti and Preston Guilmet; and outfielder Magneuris Sierra. The Marlins’ 40-man roster now has 34 spots filled, but six players — pitcher Cody Poteet, first baseman Jesus Aguilar, third baseman Brian Anderson, utility infielder Jon Berti, infielder Jose Devers and first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper — have to be taken off the 60-day IL and re-added to the 40-man roster by Sunday.
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