Should Marlins pursue trades or free agency to address offense?
All was relatively quiet Sunday on the first day of MLB’s Winter Meetings as team executives, agents and other key decisionmakers made their way to San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Whether the Miami Marlins will make any significant moves between now and when the meetings end Wednesday remains to be seen, but their needs are well known.
Adding bats is the top priority, most likely in center field and at the corner infield spots.
But what avenues are the best for the Marlins to pursue their needs? Trade? Free agency? A combination of both?
Let’s take a look.
CENTER FIELD
The Marlins had six players play center field last season, with Jesus Sanchez (6452⁄3 innings), JJ Bleday (330) and Bryan De La
Cruz (3071⁄3 innings) — all three of whom profile more as corner outfielders — taking the bulk of the reps.
There are only two true starting-caliber center fielders on the free agent market in Brandon Nimmo and Cody Bellinger, so a trade might be the most logical option for Miami to acquire a center fielder.
And two logical options with the trade route are the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, 27, and the Baltimore Orioles’ Cedric Mullins, 28. Both are under team control for the next three seasons.
Reynolds on Saturday requested a trade, although the Pirates remain reluctant to trade him barring a major offer. The Pirates said in a statement to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Reynolds’ request
“will have zero impact” on their decision-making and that Reynolds “remains a key member of our team.”
The switch-hitter has a career .281 batting average and .842 OPS since making his MLB debut in 2019. He was an All-Star in 2021. He has hit 51 home runs, logged 152 RBI and scored 167 runs over the past two seasons.
He struggled in the field last season, though, ranking last in 2022 among 17 players who played at least 750 innings in center field with minus-14 defensive runs saved.
Mullins, meanwhile, would bring a combination of speed, quality defense at a position of need and a left-handed bat to Miami’s lineup. He is a career .263 hitter since making his MLB debut in August
2018, with 53 home runs, 82 doubles, 14 triples, 150 RBI and 226 runs scored in 430 games. He was an All-Star in 2021 and finished ninth in American League MVP voting after posting an .878 on-baseplus-slugging mark with 30 home runs, 37 doubles and 91 runs scored.
Mullins has stolen 74 bases in his career, including 30 in the 2021 season and 34 last season while logging five defensive runs saved in center field last season, according to Fangraphs.
FIRST BASE
Garrett Cooper is the only natural first baseman on Miami’s 40-man roster after Lewin Diaz was designated for assignment. While Cooper is a solid hitter when healthy with a career .274 batting average and .788 OPS, the Marlins need a second player to platoon with him.
The Marlins checked in on Jose Abreu, who signed a three-year, $58 million deal with the Houston Astros.
Switch-hitter Josh Bell is the top free agent first baseman still on the market, with 34-year-old lefty Brandon Belt and 38-yearold righty Yuli Gurriel the only other free agent first basemen who had more than one win above replacement last season.
Bell, 30, is the most intriguing of the bunch. He has 130 career home runs, and he hit a blistering .301 with an .877 OPS in 103 games with the Washington Nationals last season before being traded to the San Diego Padres, where he slumped for the rest of the season (.192 average, .587 OPS in 53 games).
THIRD BASE
Miami has internal options here. Joey Wendle, heading into his final year of arbitration, is the favorite on the current roster to get the bulk of the reps at the hot corner. Charles Leblanc, Jordan Groshans and Jon Berti are also internal options to get playing time.
The top free agent is 38-year-old Justin Turner (which seems a long shot at best), who played the last nine years with the L.A. Dodgers. Brandon Drury (who finished last season with San Diego), Jace Peterson (Milwaukee Brewers) and Evan Longoria (San Francisco Giants) are other free agent options.