Offseason Shopping List

With Black Friday over and Cyber Monday on the horizon, it's time to start pondering what the Marlins should be prioritizing in free agency. It's December 1st and unsurprisingly, the Fish haven't made any major free agent signings yet. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if they went into the new year without signing a big free agent either. With the current roster intact, this is a 65-win squad at best. 

The biggest upgrades the Marlins could use would be at catcher, shortstop, and centerfield. This is the second year in a row that they've had uncertainties at these positions coming into the offseason. We all know that they're not going to splurge this offseason, but I believe they can spend their money wisely and sign some young players that have potential. Here are some players that I believe the Fish could benefit from:

- Catcher

Danny Jensen.

He had a disappointing 2024 season to say the least after coming off career highs in HRs (17), RBIs (53) and total bases (127) in 2023. Jensen's career high in AVG is .260 (2022) in 215 at bats, which is solid for a player at the backstop position. Defensively, he's had a fielding percentage near ,990 each season in the majors. His 13.9% caught stealing on the other hand would be the main downgrade when comparing him to Nick Fortes. I could see a platoon scenario. 

Jensen is only a year older than Fortes and has significantly better numbers offensively. It would potentially be best to sign him to a 2-year contract in the 8 M range. 

- Shortstop

Amed Rosario.

When looking at his career numbers, Rosario can be a hit or miss. His ,280 batting average last season does stand out, but we should hope more for the stats he produced in the 2022 campaign. He led the majors with 9 triples, had a career best 180 hits along with 86 runs, and to cap it off he had a 3.95 WAR. It would be tough for him to overtake the starting role from Xavier Edwards unless he really impresses the front office in Spring Training, but he does have the ability to add value to the team coming off the bench. 

Adding Rosario to the roster would bolster the roster with his veteran presence as a utility player. It may be a small risk depending on how he pans out so a 1-year/2 M contract should be ideal. 

- Centerfield

Jesse Winker.

The former All-Star (2021) would be a significant upgrade over any of our current outfielders. He had a career best .556 slugging % and a .950 OPS. Although not an elite defender, adding an extra power hitter in Winker would improve their rankings in the runs for category. Based on his stat lines these last few seasons, he's due for a bounce back and it may be of the Marlins interest for it to pay off for them. 

He's 31 and his prime may have passed already, but the Fish should be looking for an outfielder that can create a clutch moment in a game when they're down 2+ runs and Winker is the guy. A 1-year deal in the 2 M range would be a good investment. 

The biggest need of all these positions would be centerfield. Outside of Jesus Sanchez in one of the corner outfield positions, the other 2 spots are totally up for grabs. In fact, if the Marlins wanted to actually spend some money, the outfield should be the position they should target for that move. There are still some significant names in the market that could help the Fish become a bit more competitive in 2025.