Jazz Chisholm Jr. essentially a lock, but Marlins have decisions to make with rest of infield
With the Miami Marlins’ 2022 season in the books, it’s time to start taking stock on where the organization stands, where improvements need to be made and how that can be done. Over the course of this week, the Miami Herald will break down the team by position groups. Today, the focus is on the infield.
The Marlins have plenty of players under team control to make up their infield for 2023. As for exact roles, those remain undefined. Plus, with a large contingent of players in this group in arbitration and due pay raises, some decisions will have to be made.
Who’s on first?
If solely talking defense, the answer would be Lewin Diaz. His five defensive runs saved last season according to Fangraphs were tied for the third most among MLB first basemen despite Diaz only playing 410 innings.
But Diaz still has yet proven his worth offensively at a position that needs offensive production. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter has a career .181 batting average with a .567 OPS, 13 home runs, 27 RBI and a 28.9-percent strikeout rate over 343 career plate appearances. Diaz is out of minor-league options, so a decision on his role has to be made next year.
Internally, Garrett Cooper is the other primary option. He’s a steady hitter when healthy with a career .274 average and .788 OPS but has yet to complete a full season without an injured list stint. He finished 2022 on the IL with a fractured pinkie finger. Cooper is under team control for one more season and is projected to make about $4.1 million in arbitration.
Elsewhere in the organization, Charles Leblanc got four starts at first base down the stretch with the front office wanting to get a look at him there after he primarily played second and third base after being called up. Jerar Encarnacion, while primarily a corner outfielder, has played first base at the minor-league level. And shortstop Miguel Rojas can also play the position.
Free agent options this offseason would include Josh Bell, Jose Abreu, Brandon Belt, Yuli Gurriel, Anthony Rizzo (should he opt out), Eric Hosmer (should he opt out), Carlos Santana and Miguel Sano (should a club option be declined).
Versatility over positional stability
As for the other three positions around the diamond, the Marlins have placed a value on players who can handle multiple positions instead of being locked into one spot.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., when healthy, is Miami’s primary second baseman. He led the team in just about every main offensive category last season before being sidelined for the season with a stress fracture in his lower back — and that was while playing through a torn meniscus as well.
As for the rest of the infielders still under team control...
▪ Joey Wendle made starts at second base, shortstop and third base last season. He has a $6.3 million mutual option or $75,000 buyout. Should that option not be agreed upon, Wendle is still under team control for one year, with his arbitration value projected at $5.4 million.
▪ Rojas is a contender to be the National League’s Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop and has one more year on his two-year, $10 million contract. He played through a right wrist injury the entire second half of the season, which impacted his final offensive numbers.
▪ Brian Anderson had his season chopped up due to injuries for a second consecutive year. He finished hitting just .222 with a .657 OPS, both career-low marks, over 98 games and ended up primarily playing right field instead of third base down the stretch as Miami opted to protect his left shoulder that he has injured three times over the past two seasons. He is entering his final year of team control and projected to make $5.2 million.
▪ Leblanc was a bright spot offensively after making his MLB debut on July 30. He safely reached base in each of his first 13 games and had multiple hits in 12 of 48 games while finishing with a .263 average and .724 OPS. He looked most comfortable defensively at second base but held his own at third base, as well.
▪ Jordan Groshans, acquired at the Aug. 2 trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays for relievers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop as well as a low-level catcher prospect, hit .262 with a .619 OPS in 17 games after making his MLB debut on Sept. 13 and held his own defensively at third base. His big-league sample size is the smallest of the group but he should enter spring training competing for a roster spot.
▪ Jon Berti saw his role increase this year when both Wendle and Anderson were sidelined with injuries and kept that expanded role when both returned. He led MLB with 41 stolen bases and continued to excel as Miami’s do-it-all super-utility player. He is projected to make about $2.4 million in arbitration next season.
It’s unlikely the Marlins will make a big splash here, even though the free agent market is expected to be packed, especially at shortstop (Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and potentially Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa pending their opt out decisions).
In the system
Outside of first baseman Troy Johnston and shortstop Nasim Nunez, who finished the 2022 season in Triple A Jacksonville and Double A Pensacola respectively, most of the Marlins’ top infielder prospects are in the lower minors. That group includes 2022 first-round pick Jacob Berry (No. 3 per MLB Pipeline; Single A Jupiter), Jose Salas (No. 5, High A Beloit), Yiddi Cappe (No. 6, Jupiter), Kahlil Watson (No. 7, Jupiter), Ian Lewis (No. 14, Jupiter) and Cody Morissette (No. 20, Beloit).
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