Where things stand with several key Marlins facing questions about their future
The Marlins can say with confidence that Luis Arraez will be their second baseman next season and Jake Burger will be their third baseman. Beyond that, what happens over the final month of the season will shape offseason decisions by the front office in some cases, and by players in other cases.
Where things stand with several of the players involved in looming decisions:
▪ Outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler: Sometime in the next week or two, Soler will reach 550 plate appearances, the final incentive that would raise his salary to $13 million next season.
But he can opt out of that $13 million and a source said that barring a restructured multiyear deal with the Marlins in the weeks ahead, it’s very likely he will opt out after hitting 35 homers this season, with a month still to go in the season.
We’re told Soler has interest in returning and the team had preliminary discussions with his representation about signing him to an extension.
If the Marlins and Soler do not reach an new agreement by season’s end, Miami could choose to offer him the qualifying offer for 2024. This is projected to be close to $19 million for one season.
If Soler declines that offer, Miami would then receive a compensatory draft pick in 2024, if he signs elsewhere. That draft choice likely be a second round pick, depending on the size of the contract Soler gets in free agency.
▪ First baseman Josh Bell: When the Marlins acquired him from Cleveland at the trade deadline, the thinking was that there would be a good chance he would opt into $16.5 million next season.
That’s no longer a sure thing, not by any stretch, because Bell has hit well as a Marlin (.276, .351 on base, 8 homers, 13 RBI in 23 games). His player option decision could come down to how he plays over the final month of the season.
Marlins general manager Kim Ng has said she would like to keep both Soler and Bell. But there have been no contract talks with Bell to this point.
Bell said last week that he hasn’t thought about what he will do with the opt-out and would wait until after the season to discuss it with his agent, Scott Boras. Regardless of whether he opts out or not, would he like to stay in Miami?
“Without a doubt. I love it here; it’s been a blast,” he said. “My sister went to UM. Every offseason, she said you have to come here and train. Now I understand why. It’s a lot of fun. The atmosphere now is different than anything I experienced in Miami. I’m pumped.”
Among the things he likes: How hitting coach Brant Brown prepares him for games: “Every day I go to the cage and talk to him about the game plan for tonight. We watch video together and decide there how the attack plan is going to go and I can work on that in batting practice and it tends to show up in the games. This is more advanced [than other teams]. He’s taken all the heavy lifting away from us.”
And though some hitters are deterred by playing in pitcher-friendly loanDepot Park, Bell said: “I don’t think it’s a difficult park to hit in. It’s difficult to drive the ball out. With the turf, and with the consistency of the dome, you’ve got the same lighting every inning, every at-bat, and it’s easy to get hits. And that’s the most exciting thing about playing here. Don’t focus on power. Focus on line drives, and generally for me, that’s when I start hitting home runs. It’s a perfect storm.”
▪ The position of Jazz Chisholm: Though the strong likelihood is that Chisholm will remain in center field instead of moving back shortstop, Chisholm said he will wait until the end of the season to determine how he feels about that. Chisholm was selfless in agreeing to move from shortstop to center field, and there’s a good chance he will continue to play wherever the team asks him to play.
But he said right now “it’s a coin toss” what he will tell Ng about where he prefers to play in 2024.
“Playing center field is cool,” he said. “I feel like I’m good at it. Once I got used to it, I’m really good at it. I feel like I’m probably better in the outfield than I am in the infield. But I just love being an infielder.”
He mentioned one negative about playing center: “I feel I have to get more comfortable with how I’m normally so tired. That’s the only transition from the outfield, running down balls, and having to compose your breath during an at-bat. It’s a little bit more on your body to play the outfield.”
Has that affected him at the plate? “Sometimes. You’re learning, especially with the pitch clock, you have to run in. It’s not like in the past, where you get to take your time, catch your breath and go to your at bat. You’re learning to play a position that takes more energy and then you’re coming into a new time clock. I’ll be fine.”
▪ Other outfield spots: While Jesus Sanchez and Bryan De La Cruz remain cheap and under team control for 2024, it remains to be seen if the Marlins will go into next season projecting either as a starter, as opposed to a fourth or fifth outfielder.
De La Cruz has gone from hitting .279 in the first half of the season to .201 in the second-half, with a meager .258 on base average.
The Marlins are stuck with another two years of Avisail Garcia’s contract, at $12 million per season. He’s hitting .185 in 37 games and is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury. It would be difficult to project him as a 2024 starter, based on his poor first two seasons as a Marlin.
When the Marlins are on the road, their outfielders have been among the worst in baseball. Entering this homestand, De La Cruz was hitting .217 on the road (.294 at home), Sanchez .233 on the road (.291 at home) and Chisholm .217 on the road (.294 at home).
▪ Shortstop: An impending free agent, Joey Wendle has a final month to show the Marlins that he’s a better player than he has showed this season (.229, .264 on base in 90 games). The strong likelihood is the team will try to upgrade on him in free agency.
Though Jon Berti has hit well (.280), he likely doesn’t project as an everyday shortstop.
Asked if his view of Berti has changed amid a good season offensively, manager Skip Schumaker said: “Super utility is still his calling card. I think he can play everyday but different positions. I think he can play every day at a couple spots, but we have Burger [at third], Arraez [at second]. I think he’s an every day player but a utility role. He’s such a huge asset for a manager to put him anywhere and not worry.”
The Marlins likely will exercise Berti’s $3.5 million team option for 2024.
▪ Catcher: Offseason change is expected at this position, with Jacob Stallings and Nick Fortes unable to hit consistently and struggling to throw out runners.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Arraez, who has hit .283 (.303 on-base) after the All-Star break after hitting .383 before it, said opponents aren’t playing him any different defensively: “They play me the same. I need to hit the ball like I did in the first half. I’m human. They play really good defense against [me].”
▪ Why yes, Sandy Alcantara said he has watched replays of his uncharacteristic tirade in the Marlins dugout after a poor seventh inning in a 4-0 loss to San Diego last week.
Alcantara smashed a cooler and buckets of sunflower seeds and gum with his glove and then threw his glove and cap in frustration.
Though he mentioned “run support” and “walking people” as sources of frustration after that loss, he made clear two days later that he was upset primarily “with myself because I was leaving pitches in the middle.”
He didn’t feel uncomfortable watching the replay of his outburst because “it’s part of baseball. Sometimes you’re going to be angry. I saw it everywhere - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.”
After an uneven first half of the season (4.72 ERA in 18 starts), Alcantara has pitched well since the All Star break (3.02 ERA in 8 starts).
“Early in the season, I just had a lot of bad outings,” he said. “Every time I had to be on the mound, I didn’t have any success. [Since then], I feel good about it.”
▪ The Marlins can promote one pitcher and one position player on Friday, when rosters can be increased to 28 for the final month of the season. Xavier Edwards and Dane Myers, both hitting well above .300 at Triple A, are among the possibilities. “We feel like we have good options,” Schumaker said, adding he hasn’t discussed it yet with Ng.
▪ Pitcher Jake Eder, sent to the White Sox in the Burger trade, allowed exactly as many runs in his first three starts for Double A Birmingham (14 in 8 ⅓ innings) as he did in 71 ⅓ innings for the Marlins’ Double A team in Pensacola before Tommy John surgery.
▪ Former Marlins infielder Jean Segura who was traded to Cleveland and subsequently released, does not appear likely to sign with a team for the remainder of the season.
Segura, 33, plans on continuing his career but that will likely come in 2024. His $8.5 million salary originally guaranteed by the Marlins was absorbed by the Guardians in the Josh Bell deal.
Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish hosts Newswire from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays on Sportsgrid. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigMish. Follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz
This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 11:18 AM.
