Marlins were 'in the mix' to sign Cedric Mullins in free agency

[Ely Sussman]

The Miami Marlins were among the teams in pursuit of free agent outfielder Cedric Mullins before he reached a one-year, $7 million agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Fish On First heard the same from a source familiar with the club's thinking.

The 31-year-old Mullins would have been a potential bounce-back candidate after posting 1.3 fWAR in 2025, his lowest ever in a full-length season. Even without starting on a daily basis, he continued to provide an intriguing combination of power (17 HR) and speed (22 SB) while also drawing walks at a career-high 10% rate. However, the quality of his defense in center field has slipped. It's unclear whether the Marlins intended to use Mullins in center or transition the former All-Star to a corner spot in deference to Jakob Marsee.

It caught FOF off-guard last month when the Marlins were linked to Mike Yastrzemski (who remains available). Although they aren't targeting left-handed outfielders per se to add to a group that already includes Marsee, Kyle Stowers and Griffin Conine, they are open-minded to veterans with good offensive track records and a willingness to accept short-term deals.

Entering Thursday, the Marlins' only acquisitions through the first month-plus of the MLB offseason have been waiver claims and minor league signings.

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[Robert Hanson]

The Marlins were interested in signing a left hand hitting outfielder?

       Why?

   If the Marlins are going to sign F.A.’s, perhaps they should consider signing players who play positions where they need help.

      Closer, left handed set up man, 1st baseman etc….

[Guest]

Jesus Christ, and Fish Stripes is HAPPY about that? Thank God they didn't sign him. Signing Cedric Mullins would have been this year's Placido Polanco or Jarrod Saltalamachia: another WASHED UP VETERAN who would have taken playing time away from some deserving young player. Each day I open up Fish Stripes absolutely dreading that I would see another stupid Heath Bell, John Buck, Avisael Garcia, etc. type of signing. If Fish Stripes REALLY gives a damn about the Marlins they would be writing articles imploring the Front Office NOT TO THROW AWAY MONEY ON WASHED UP FREE AGENTS JUST SO THEY CAN LOOK LIKE A SERIOUS MLB TEAM. We all know they are NOT, but they might get lucky with the youngsters they have as long as they get playing time and the McMoron manager doesn't sabotage them too much.

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, Robert Hanson said:

The Marlins were interested in signing a left hand hitting outfielder?

       Why?

   If the Marlins are going to sign F.A.’s, perhaps they should consider signing players who play positions where they need help.

      Closer, left handed set up man, 1st baseman etc….

I agree, except for the Closer and 1st baseman part. We have young closers who did well last year and who deserve the job this year. As for first base, we have De Los Santos, Augustin Ramirez, and other youngsters who also deserve a shot. We all know they are not going to sign a REAL good player like Pete Alonso so lets not play the "settle for 4th best" game. We HAD Troy Johnston, but decided to keep WAGABUM instead, which shows you just how STUPID these guys can be. We definitely could use set up relievers though; I agree with that 100%.