6 inexpensive free agents who could bring veteran presence to Marlins roster

[Kevin Barral]

Even if their best years are behind them, these veterans could play a role in helping young Marlins players reach their long-term potential.

The Miami Marlins want to create opportunities for their young players to gain experience and learn at the big level in 2025, but as currently constructed, their roster barely has any veterans for them to learn from. The trade that sent Jake Burger to the Texas Rangers last week removed yet another leader from the clubhouse. Although the main goal of next season is development, the value of having a veteran presence should not be completely ignored.

“(Signing a veteran) is one of the things we're certainly looking at,” president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said following the Burger trade. “I think having veteran presence, having leadership in the clubhouse, is really important, and we're always looking for ways to address that.”

The following names would be affordable for the Marlins on one-year deals and capable of providing help when needed on and off the field.

 

Carlos Santana, 1B

Santana is the best option we will discuss here in terms of on-field impact. He is coming off a season where he slashed .238/.328/.420/.749 with 23 home runs, 71 RBI and a 109 OPS+ through 150 games played. On the defensive side of the ball, he received the American League Gold Glove, posting a 14 outs above average and a 10 DRS at first base.

Turning 39 soon after Opening Day should limit Santana's price tag, but he still has a case for topping the $5.25 million he received last year.

 

Anthony Rizzo, 1B

South Florida native and 2016 World Series champion Anthony Rizzo is a free agent after spending the last three-and-a-half seasons with the New York Yankees. He is coming off the worst season of his career, being limited to 92 games and slashing .228/.301/.335/.637 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and an 84 wRC+. 

Rizzo is younger than Santana (35) and had a more impressive prime, but he has been in a sharp decline since suffering a concussion midway through the 2023 season.

ZiPS projections have him slashing .227/.316/.377 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and a 95 OPS+. Perhaps the Marlins could get better production than that by limiting him to a platoon role. 

Signing Rizzo would also be a nice marketing opportunity for the team given his career accomplishments and local ties.

 

Yasmani Grandal, C

Yes, the Marlins 40-man roster is already filled with four catchers, but that does not necessarily block them from doing more to address the position. Outside of Nick Fortes, the other three current catchers have combined to play 20 MLB games.

Grandal, 36, is coming off a season with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he slashed .228/.304/.400/.704 with eight home runs, 27 RBI and a 95 wRC+ in 72 games. He was inconsistent with a 34 wRC+ in the first half compared to a 172 wRC+ in the second half. According to DRS, he was right at league average. He was just above league average in blocking and ranked in the 86th percentile of framing, per Baseball Savant.

Maybe the University of Miami alum has interest in returning home.

 

Paul DeJong, SS

Even 31-year-old Paul DeJong would become the oldest member of the 2025 Marlins if acquired. He's coming off a season with the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals where he slashed .227/.276/.427/.703 with 24 home runs, 56 RBI and a 95 wRC+.

Defensively, the Marlins need all the help they can get. DeJong, who posted four outs above average last year and nine the year before, could be a good influence on shortstop Xavier Edwards without preventing Edwards from playing almost every day.

 

Trevor Williams, RHP

Former Marlins second-round draft pick Trevor Williams is coming off a season where he only made 13 starts due to a right flexor muscle strain. Prior to the injury, he was having a career year, posting a 2.03 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 8.0 K.9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 66 ⅔ innings pitched.

Williams has a five-pitch mix: four-seam fastball, sweeper, changeup, slider and sinker. After years of struggling with his curveball, replacing that with a sweeper has made a huge difference. Opponents hit only .135 against his sweeper in 2024.

Nobody should be expecting Williams to repeat the same numbers next season. He's had an inconsistent career that includes allowing the most home runs in the National League in 2023. Command is very important because he lacks fastball velocity (averaging 88.9 mph). His familiarity with both starting and relieving would be useful for a Marlins team that is reportedly considering trading Jesús Luzardo and other arms.

 

Matt Moore, LHP

Just one season ago, Moore was pitching in high-leverage situations and had a 2.56 ERA and a 3.73 FIP through 52 ⅔ innings pitched. In 2024, he posted a 5.03 ERA, 6.17 FIP, 7.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 through 48 ⅓ innings pitched. That step back makes him affordable for any team, including the Marlins.

As noted in our own Ely Sussman's offseason blueprint article, Moore could easily turn into a trade deadline candidate if he bounces back.

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[rurrusuno]

Given our bad tendency to sign free agents that don't pan out (think Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia, Wei-Yin Chen, Mike Morse, Heath Bell, Jean Segura, Johnny Cueto), I wouldn't be excited about signing any of these. 

Paul DeJong is the one who makes the most sense on this list, given the Marlins dire need for a shortstop. He's still in his early 30's so not all of his best days are behind him. 

[2qbn]

Agree that De Jong is probably the best option for the Marlins. Plus, we have too many that need to play 1B/DH already. At least that is my impression with the current roster and guys we might call up.

 

 

[Ely Sussman]

10 hours ago, rurrusuno said:

Given our bad tendency to sign free agents that don't pan out (think Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia, Wei-Yin Chen, Mike Morse, Heath Bell, Jean Segura, Johnny Cueto), I wouldn't be excited about signing any of these. 

I often wonder about the impact those bad results have had on Sherman. He has trusted his baseball people with those investments and they've mostly made the team worse! Duvall might be his "best" example of spending millions on a player and getting something out of it. If there had been more success stories, Sherman might feel differently about where to set payroll.

[rurrusuno]

1 hour ago, Ely Sussman said:

I often wonder about the impact those bad results have had on Sherman. He has trusted his baseball people with those investments and they've mostly made the team worse! Duvall might be his "best" example of spending millions on a player and getting something out of it. If there had been more success stories, Sherman might feel differently about where to set payroll.

It's as if the Marlins take 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards with their free agent choices. Adam Duvall is a rare case in recent memory of a free agent investment that was actually worth it. I miss watching him play in a Marlins uniform and feel like he was traded too soon. He was still under team control and the player we traded him for didn't last long with us. 

[Slacker Mills]

Of course Sherman is feeling shy about signing free agents. His front office has been utterly foolhardy, with Bendix taking the biggest boondoggle trophy for signing Tim Anderson. The sad thing is that I knew all these signings were terrible the instant they were made! Heck, Anderson put up exactly the same crap numbers in Miami as he did in Chicago. h

Worst of all, Bendix traded super talented Jazz Jr. Only one team wins the division each year. The others have to rely on interesting players to make games interesting. team. Jazz, at second base, was the one super talent on the team. Moving him to CF was the product of utter failure at finding and employing an experienced CF. Yes, Jazz was very immature, but he will only soften that crap as time goes on. No one on the current roster can even dream on 24 HR and 40 SB. in a season ... and Jazz is capable of improving on that.