Marlins sign Eric Wagaman to big league deal, DFA Vidal Bruján

[Ely Sussman]

A big right-handed bat with solid power potential, Wagaman could partially help fill the void left by Jake Burger's departure.

Welcome to the Miami Marlins, Eric Wagaman. The 27-year-old former Los Angeles Angel is Miami's first major league free agent signing of the offseason, receiving a one-year split contract as announced by the club on Friday afternoon. Utility man Vidal Bruján was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The AP reports that Wagaman gets a $770,000 salary if he sticks in the major leagues, slightly above the $760,000 MLB minimum. He'll earn a pro-rated $200,000 salary for any time spent in the minors. He has all three of his minor league options remaining.

Wagaman entered the pros in 2017 as a 13th-round draft pick and stayed with the New York Yankees organization through the 2023 season, never topping 88 games played in a single season. The Angels picked him in the minor league phase of last winter's Rule 5 Draft. With health and opportunity on his side, he hit well against Double-A and Triple-A competition (.274/.339/.469, 129 wRC+, 17 HR and 10 SB in 121 G). Wagaman made his MLB debut on September 10 and served as the Angels' everyday third baseman during the final few weeks of the 2024 season (.250/.270/.403, 86 wRC+, 2 HR and 0 SB in 18 G).

The Angels non-tendered Wagaman in November and he elected free agency.

Wagaman crushed left-handed pitching prior to his call-up, slashing .365/.421/.615 in 114 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. That's probably what the Marlins liked most about him—their offense collectively had a 75 wRC+ versus lefties last season, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox.

Defensively, Wagaman rarely played anywhere but first base while in the Yankees system. That changed in 2024. From the start of the season through mid-June, he played a combination of first, left field and right field. The hot corner became his primary position during the second half. If Jonah Bride (1B) and Connor Norby (3B) continue to get everyday reps entering 2025 (like they did to close out 2024), Wagaman figures to see most of his action at left, right and DH.

If Wagaman works out, he still has all of his club control ahead of him (at least three years away from arbitration eligibility and at least six years away from free agency).

As for Bruján, his lone Marlins season (.222/.303/.319, 73 wRC+, 2 HR and 5 SB in 102 G) was the finest of his major league career, but that's not saying much. He made very poor quality of contact and lacked the athleticism or intangibles to compensate for that. His best asset was his versatility, making appearances at every position on the diamond except for catcher. Despite his impressive prospect pedigree, the Dominican switch-hitter is at best a replacement-level player.

Prospect Javier Sanoja and minor league signing Ronny Simon are candidates to occupy Bruján's role in 2025.

Miami's 40-man roster remains full.

View full article

[Chad Turner]

I agree with your assessment.  Why clog up the roster spot?  I guess he didn't want to come here (as a NRI) unless we offered him that.  We could just cut him and eat the money if he doesn't work out.  He's a bench utility player that can platoon with Bride, who didn't hit LHP well last year.  At least he's not another 2B and he's tall.  

[rurrusuno]

This is going to be Bendix’s signature move in free agency this offseason! I’m not surprised we DFA’d Brunson though. That was bound to happen.

[Ely Sussman]

9 hours ago, Chad Turner said:

At least he's not another 2B and he's tall.  

Prior to this, I probably spent too much time thinking about how short the Marlins' hitters are and if the team was doing that intentionally, as if it was some kind of market inefficiency. Adding a 6'4" guy goes against that trend, but it'll still be in the back of my mind as the rest of the offseason plays out.

[Slacker Mills]

i'm hoping that the Marlins will be all about contact hitting and aggressive base-running. At least that way they will be fun to watch.

I watched a Joe Frisaro podcast the other day. He mentioned that Bendix should never be allowed to speak to the media because he spews nonsense. So true.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Somewhat curious, to say the least.