Marlins sign Austin Slater to major league deal

I don't hate the move, I just kind of don't understand it. The OF, even with injuries piling up, is still crowded: Marsee, Conine, Caissie, Hernández, Sanoja, and now even Norby and Morel. Was this lineup still needing an OF?

Wouldn't had been better to sign a 1B? Here is my reasoning:
- Morel was not great at 1B during ST, and Conine didn't play a whole lot there to say something about it.
- Wasn't enough with what Heriberto Hernández did last season at LF to give him an extended look there? Is Slater that much better than him?
- Baseball savant: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/heriberto-hernandez-681715?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb versus https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/austin-slater-596103?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb give me Heri, please.
- Clearly, Morel is not a 3B, but he's a whole lot less terrible at LF/RF. That means, more Morel to the corner OF, bring a 1B, so you don't have to improvise with defensive positions. Haven't we learnt anything from the X to SS experiment?
- Alright, but there are not many available 1B in the market, are they? Wanna bet?: Wilmer Flores, Rowdy Tellez, Donovan Solano, Emmanuel Rivera (good at 3B as well), LaMonte Wade, Gio Urshela, or even the countless mentioned trade for Ryan Mountcastle with the O's... all extremely doable. Not even mentioning giving a shot to DLS, the simplest way to solve the problem, and only had to play about a month, while Stowers is back.

My logic is that the Marlins could have patched the 1B glove problem for starting the season, but instead, they decided to continue the OF overflow while standing pat with the current problem.

Am I missing something here?

20 hours ago, Ely Sussman said:

The way that I read this decision is, there must be serious concern internally about Hernández continuing to be useful. There were rumblings this spring that his roster spot wasn't fully secure, which I found bizarre. As you presented, OF depth is fine on paper, but adding to it now suggests the front office doesn't feel as confident.

Obviously, we don't know all the details, but you only had to play him for a month or so until Stowers is back, and you don't even have to play him there every day, probably days when facing LHPs. How many of those do you have in a month? 10 games? It makes soooo little sense.
If the concern is more about being a useful player as a whole, WTF. 116 OPS+ last year in half a season. Crushed it even more this Spring Training. You can use the same argument I described above and EITHER bury him in the bench or the minors, OR give the guy his shot. He has more than earned it.

21 hours ago, Jose Herrera said:

@Hans Herrera you just opened my third eye. The silver bullet we need at first base is Harold Ramirez!

As a fellow Colombian, I'd love to bring a paisano to the Marlins. @Ely Sussman would also have liked the move. Hitting Harold continued to rake during the WBC, and I'm sure he could have caught up with MLB pitching ... but that's wishful thinking with the current front office.

On 3/24/2026 at 10:09 PM, Kevin Barral said:

In the aftermath of losing both Kyle Stowers and Esteury Ruiz to injuries, the Miami Marlins are in agreement with right-handed-hitting outfielder Austin Slater, Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported on Tuesday. It is a one-year major league free agent deal, which the club has yet to confirm. Sources tell Fish On First that Slater is guaranteed $1 million and can earn more through performance bonuses.

Slater, 33, spent the 2025 season with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. Between those two teams, he slashed .216/.270/.372/.642 with five home runs, 13 RBI and a 78 wRC+. Before being dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline, Slater posted a 100 wRC+ (right at league average), but then his production took a major dip, with a hamstring injury limited his availability down the stretch.

This offseason, Slater signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. In 15 spring training games, he posted a 126 wRC+, but did not make the club and instead triggered his opt-out.

With Ruiz expected to miss 6-8 weeks with an oblique strain, the Marlins had several internal options, including fellow righty outfielders Andrew Pintar and Kemp Alderman. Instead, they'll turn to a veteran entering his 10th MLB season who becomes the oldest player on their 40-man roster.

Despite the struggles this past season, Slater has a lifetime OPS of .787 against left-handed pitching. The Marlins will face two left-handed starters this weekend in Kyle Freeland on Opening Day and José Quintana on Sunday. Expect Slater to start both of those games.

Slater is mainly a corner outfielder at this stage of his career, but he does have more career games in center field (235) than any other position.

There is a notable connection between Slater and Marlins. Current general manager Gabe Kapler was the manager of the San Francisco Giants from 2020-23. Slater played for him throughout that period and enjoyed the best seasons of his career.

The most likely corresponding roster move to add Slater to Miami's 40-man roster and 26-man active roster will be to place starting pitcher Adam Mazur on the 60-day injured list, as he underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier this month.

Once official, this will be the Marlins' fifth major league free agent signing of the 2025-26 offseason. The others were Pete Fairbanks, Chris Paddack, Christopher Morel and John King.

 

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Well, I don't know what Heriberto's OPS+ was this Spring Training, but I know he had the highest OPS this Spring Training among Marlin players with 15 or more ABs, while leading in HRs with 3. 
Again, I just don't get it.