14 former Marlins played for both World Series teams, including worst free agent ever

[Sean Millerick]

When it comes to the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, there is no shortage of former Miami Marlins to choose from. 

Brewers captain Christian Yelich headlines that crop, and would have even before Derek Jeter reminded the baseball world he traded him to Milwaukee. On the Rays side, this series will see them prominently feature two players current Marlins president Peter Bendix traded to his former team. Retired Fish who played for either side include Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Chuck Carr, Trevor Hoffman, Craig Counsell, Devon White, and Liván Hernández. Seriously, it might be easier to name a 1997 Marlin that didn't play for one of these teams. 

But what about former Fish who played for both Milwaukee and Tampa? 

That list gets far shorter. Fourteen, to be precise.

Now while I freely admit a forgotten reliever could have been lost in the shuffle here, there is no debate about this crop being much less stellar than the above group. Only one Marlins World Series ring among them. Backup catcher Gregg Zaun has that honor, last alphabetically but first in terms of career WAR (13.7) among them.

However, that is far from the most recognized Marlin on this list. That honor goes to the worst free-agent signing in franchise history, Avisaíl García.

Much attention will be rightly given to the first player mentioned in this article during this series, and what has befallen the Brewers, Marlins, and Yelich since that fateful trade. Yet the staggering flop García proved to be has been nearly as damaging. Remember, one of Miami's largest expenses this past season was the $5 million issued to Garcia to finish off his burdensome contract. It's a fate made all the more horrifying by the fact his 9.4 career WAR ranks second on this list behind Zaun, despite a -1.9 Miami tally.

Moving on, what about Jesús Aguilar and Logan Morrison? Only seven players have hit more homers for Miami in the Sherman era than Aguilar, who was a key piece of that 2020 playoff team. Older fans will fondly remember Morrison's 23-homer showing in 2011, and older millennials will even more fondly remember his social media antics. 

Beyond that, it's a who's who of former faces. Burke Badenhop and Brad Boxberger round out the players most fans remember hearing about. Afterwards? John Curtiss, Joe Dillon, Preston Guilmet, Alex Jackson, Dan Jennings, Trevor Richards, Gerald Williams, and Josh Wilson bring up the rear.

Badenhop was part of the infamous Cabrera-Willis trade. Two years after Miami dealt Richards to Tampa, the Rays flipped him to Milwaukee for a package that included Drew Rasmussen.  

So as another World Series plays out without the Marlins, trust in the fact that history runs deep between these three clubs. 

And that no matter what happens, Miami will still have more championships than the winner when it's over. 

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