As rebuild hits Year 5, Miami Marlins look to retooled lineup as key for turnaround

It’s easy for Brian Anderson to look around and see how much has changed. He has been a regular in the Miami Marlins’ lineup since the 2018 season, when a new ownership took over and this whole rebuild began.

Those teams struggled on offense. They scored either the fewest or second-fewest runs in three of the past four seasons and relied primarily on up-and-coming starting pitchers to keep them competitive.

But there’s something different about this team, Anderson insists.

Why?

“We have so many weapons now,” Anderson said.

That was Miami’s main investment this offseason. It had to be.

And while the Marlins didn’t make the biggest splash of the offseason or land the hottest names on the market, they found what they believed to be a quartet of players to bolster their lineup.

They signed Avisail Garcia to a four-year, $53 million deal — the team’s biggest free agency deal since the Bruce Sherman ownership group took over ahead of the 2018 season — before MLB’s 99-day lockout and signed Jorge Soler to a three-year, $36 million contract a week into spring training. They also acquired infielder Joey Wendle and catcher Jacob Stallings via a pair of trades.

Whether that translates into a breakthrough season that puts the Marlins into playoff contention or results in yet another dud will be a story line of the 2022 season, which begins at 4:35 p.m. Friday against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

The Marlins are 218-327 during the first four seasons under the Bruce Sherman ownership group and have lost at least 95 games in each of the three seasons in which a full 162 games have been played. The lone bright spot at the big-league level came in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when Miami made a 14-team playoff field with a 31-29 record and advanced to the National League Division Series.

“Our goal,” general manager Kim Ng said, “is to be playing meaningful games in September and hopefully into October.”

Lengthening the lineup

In order to have any chance to do that, the Marlins’ front office knew the top priority this offseason had to be bolstering the offense.

So here’s what Kim Ng and Co. did:

▪ They acquired four starters in Garcia, Soler, Wendle and Stallings.

Garcia, Soler and Wendle last year combined for 67 home runs, 210 RBI and 215 runs scored. All three have extensive postseason experience, with Soler winning the World Series twice. Stallings is a Gold Glove catcher who should boost Miami’s pitchers and can provide a semi-decent bat at the bottom of the lineup.

The quartet will also account for four of the team’s top eight salaries this season, collectively making about $32 million — or about 42 percent of the Marlins’ projected $76.4 million Opening Day payroll according to Cots Baseball Contracts.

(Garcia and Soler are making $12 million each this season; Wendle’s and Stallings’ salaries still have to be decided in arbitration but will combine to be anywhere from $6.8 million to $8 million).

▪ They kept both of their big-hitting first basemen in Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper, knowing the two can split time between playing in the field and being the team’s designated hitter. Aguilar was leading the National League in RBI last season before missing most of the final month with a knee injury. Cooper, when healthy, has been one of the Marlins’ top pure hitters the past three years.

▪ They extended Miguel Rojas, the team’s de facto captain who is known mainly for his defense but has posted a .277 batting average with 92 extra-base hits during the last three years since becoming the team’s everyday shortstop.

▪ And they have Anderson, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and outfielder Jesus Sanchez to round out what should be the team’s regulars in the lineup.

It’s not necessarily MLB’s flashiest or most dangerous lineup, but it is an improved lineup over the ones the Marlins have fielded on a consistent basis over the past four years.

It’s also a deeper and versatile group, with 10 starting-caliber players for nine spots in the lineup on any given day — and that doesn’t include utility player Jon Berti and backup catcher Peyton Henry, who both will get occasional starts as well.

“The most interesting thing about the lineup,” Ng said, “is the length.”

It’s a formula similar to how the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays — two perennial playoff contenders — construct their rosters.

Manager Don Mattingly and Ng both spent time in the Dodgers organization before joining the Marlins, so they’ve experienced the success with this model first hand.

“No doubt,” Mattingly said. “I’ve seen it with [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew [Friedman]. You keep guys fresh.”

Adjustments to be made

But that also requires an acknowledgment that roles will change for some players. The Marlins likely won’t have anyone starting all 162 games. Egos and worries over individual statistics have to be put in check.

Anderson is shifting to more of a utility role with Wendle poised to be Miami’s primary starting third baseman, a position Anderson held the last two years.

Chisholm, who was one of the Marlins’ primary leadoff hitters last year, could become a regular at the bottom of the lineup as the Marlins prioritize power at the top and try to space out their three left-handed hitters in Chisholm, Wendle and Sanchez.

And speaking of Sanchez, he could be starting in center field for the first time as a big leaguer as the Marlins prioritize offense from their three outfielders over defense.

Individual sacrifices for the team goal.

“Everybody’s on the same page,” Rojas said. “Having more players and more talent is always better.”

That’s valuable for two reasons.

First, it gives Mattingly flexibility when building a starting lineup for any given game, allowing him to maximize matchups with opposing pitchers.

Second, it provides the Marlins with an internal safety net. They have at least two players on the roster who can competently play at each position. This minimizes any potential drop-off in production if a starter gets hurt or needs a day off.

It’s a safety net Miami didn’t have a year ago. Injuries derailed their lineup at various points; Anderson only played 67 games and Miami didn’t have a true backup third baseman. Cooper missed the second half of the season with an elbow injury that required surgery. Chisholm had three separate injury stints. Rojas played the final three-and-a-half months with a dislocated finger.

They all compounded on each other and played a role in the team’s 67-95 finish last season, a year Mattingly summarized as “a punch in the gut” that has to be a “step backward to step forward.”

With a slew of new pieces in place, will that step forward happen? Their first chance to make their case is Friday.

“Now,” Mattingly said, “we’ve got to go prove it. We’ve got to go execute.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 7:00 AM.

Jordan McPherson

Miami Herald

305-376-2129

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.