The 2023 offseason has been slow-moving, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals being the only two teams to spend money. The Miami Marlins are coming off a postseason berth this past season, the first since 2020. The Philadelphia Phillies swept them in two games, but seeing the team progress was nice. The Marlins in 2023 saw excellent seasons from Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and midseason acquisition Jake Burger. The team also got great pitching from Jesus Luzardo and Edward Cabrera and also saw the emergence of Eury Perez, their newest young phenom starting pitcher. The Marlins did see a down season from Sandy Alcantara, who was coming off winning the Cy Young in 2022, but you’d have to expect his injury may have had to do with that, and he’ll return to form when he comes back in 2025. The team currently has lost Joey Wendle and Garrett Hampson from last season. It could potentially lose Jorge Soler, Matt Barnes, Johnny Cueto, Yuli Gurriel, and Jacob Stallings, so what three signings could they make to address the losses they may experience?
Three Free Agent Signing Options
Justin Turner
Turner would provide some versatility and allow options to play third base, first base, and be the designated hitter. Last season with Boston, he played in 146 games, even through an injured foot, and he slashed .276/.345/.455 with 31 doubles, 23 home runs, 96 RBI, 86 runs scored, four stolen bases, and 51 walks. He is entering his age 39 season this year and could be a great addition to the lineup and the Marlins clubhouse. There were rumors that Miami wanted to acquire him from Boston at the deadline last season.
Tim Anderson
Anderson is coming off a down year with the Chicago White Sox and is a player that could benefit from a change of scenery and could be a nice piece to slide into the Marlins lineup. Last season in 123 games, he slashed .245/.286/.296 with a .582 OPS; he had 18 doubles, two triples, one home run, 25 RBI, 52 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, and 26 walks. He is a two-time All-Star and finished seventh in MVP voting in 2020. If the Marlins get the Anderson from 2019, it would be a great add when he slashed .335/.357/.508 with a .865 OPS; he had 32 doubles, 18 home runs, 56 RBI, 81 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and 15 walks.
Aroldis Chapman
Chapman, a seven-time All-Star, would be a great piece at the back end of the bullpen for the Marlins. Last season, he pitched for the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, and combined, he made 61 appearances with a 3.09 ERA, a 2.52 FIP, a 1.25 WHIP, and 103 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work, and he also picked up six saves. He has made 728 appearances in his career, going 50-40 with a 2.53 ERA, a 2.36 FIP, a 1.08 WHIP, 321 saves, and 1,148 strikeouts in 698.1 innings. Chapman in a bullpen that includes Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk, and Andrew Nardi, seems like a shutdown bullpen, which has become one of the most essential aspects of postseason play in recent seasons.
Wrap Up:
The Marlins have a boatload of pitching and could trade away an arm for a bat like they did last year to acquire Arraez by trading Pablo Lopez. They will likely enter the season with a rotation of Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Eury Perez, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers, with Ryan Weathers and Max Meyer waiting in the wings. Imagine an opening day lineup of this for the Marlins
2B – Luis Arraez
1B – Josh Bell
CF – Jazz Chisholm Jr.
3B – Jake Burger
LF – Bryan De La Cruz
DH – Justin Turner
RF – Jesus Sanchez
SS – Tim Anderson
C – Nick Fortes
This allows utility player Jon Berti to slide into any spot when a day off is needed, or an injury happens. That rotation, lineup, and bullpen should be enough to get Miami back to the postseason and even allow them to make a deep run into October 2024.
