2024 Marlins Opening Day roster finalized

[Kevin Barral]

On Wednesday, the Miami Marlins finalized their roster with multiple moves, including one final position player making his way over to Miami.

MIAMI, FL—On Thursday, the Miami Marlins finalized their Opening Day roster. On the position player side, following the Jon Berti trade on the eve of Opening Day, the Marlins called up Jonah Bride, who they acquired in the offseason from the Oakland Athletics The biggest moves came when the final bullpen spots went to Declan Cronin, Bryan Hoeing and recently acquired Burch Smith, leaving Vladimir Gutierrez and Anthony Maldonado off the roster, both heading to Triple-A Jacksonville.

Xavier Edwards saw action primarily at shortstop this spring and ended up going 3-for-13 with only one strikeout. Edwards never got a true chance to play though due to a left foot infection Down in Jacksonville, Edwards will play every day. It'll be interesting to see how he's used defensively.

With the Jumbo Shrimp in 2023, Edwards slashed .351/.429/.457/.886 with seven home runs, 47 RBIs, 32 stolen bases and a 130 wRC+. When Edwards reached the Major League level, he slashed .295/.329/.333/.663 with three RBIs and an 82 wRC+. The switch-hitter was expected to see some time in center field, but then reports came out that he would receive every opportunity possible to play shortstop, which has been the case throughout spring workouts and games. The most recent medical update for Edwards is that he has gone through full workouts and took at-bats in the backfields.

Jonah Bride stood out this spring on both the major and minor league side. Going 6-for-22 with two home runs and four RBIs in the Grapefruit League, Bride also had a couple jacks in the backfields. Certainly impressed and his versatility made it easier to trade someone like Jon Berti.

Declan Cronin, who was claimed off of waivers by Marlins this offseason, truly made a name for himself from the day pitchers and catchers reported to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium till the final game he pitched this past Saturday against the Washington Nationals. Cronin's sinker/sider combo can be tricky for opposing hitters to hit as he struck out 11 hitters this spring. Even with his velocity not standing out too much, his fastball averaging 93.5 mph.

Entering the spring, Fish on First's number 18 prospect Anthony Maldonado felt like a strong candidate to make the Marlins Opening Day roster after his success in the minor leagues. Through seven spring appearances, the right-hander struck out eight hitters and only gave up one run off of three hits and four walks. However, it was not enough to get him a promotion to Miami.

On Wednesday morning, the Marlins swung a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, acquiring Burch Smith in exchange for cash considerations. In six appearance (5.1 innings pitched), Smith gave up five runs off of 12 hits and walked two while striking out five.

In 2023, Smith spent the season with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, but only pitched in one game, going 2.2 innings, gave up two runs off of three hits and struck out two. A recent but larger sample size for Smith was with the Oakland Athletics in 2021, throwing 43.1 innings, posting a 5.40 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 5.82 K/9 and a 2.28 BB/9. Smith used his upward mobility clause to opt out with the Rays and reach an agreement with the Marlins.

This past winter, Smith was with the Gigantes del Cibao, who are led by Marlins bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda and bench coach Luis "Pipe" Urueta. Smith posted a 2.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 20 SO and three walks through 12 games and 14.1 innings pitched, arguably the best Smith has looked since his shortened 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Vladimir Gutierrez signed late into the spring, but still made six appearances, where he gave up four earned runs off of 12 hits and two home runs, which came in his final start. Gutierrez walked four and struck out nine in 10  innings of work. Gutierrez's last start felt like an outlier, giving up three runs in the top of the first, but smooth sailing from there despite giving up hard contact. Gutierrez was heavily attacking the strike zone early on, but ended up working the corners in that start, where he began to see results.

Gutierrez made it known postgame that he can pitch in any situation: start, relieve or close out games. His versatility on the mound gave him a good shot to make the Opening Day roster and the Marlins took that into account with their decision.

With the Marlins acquiring Smith, that left both Gutierrez and Maldonado as the odd men out, as both were sent down. Gutierrez agreed to the assignment instead of opting out of his contract. Both of these players should be amongst the first to receive call-ups if a pitcher goes down.

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