Which Marlins players are in danger as post-2025 roster crunch approaches?

Really intriguing. Great article Ely. I was wondering about rule 5 eligible players and noticed you had written an article about this in August. I've attached it.

After reading it I think the Marlins should consider removing Michael Petersen and Tyler Zuber from our 40-man roster. I would then use the two available spots to add relief pitchers Josh White and William Kempner to protect them from the rule 5 draft.

I would like to see if George Soriano and Josh Simpson can improve over the offseason but if Jesse Bergin and/or Dale Stanavich are close to MLB ready it may be time to move on as well.

Position players Andrew Pintar and Jacob Berry also make interesting cases. Currently I'm not sure if adding Andrew Pintar would be a roster upgrade. He played well last season, but I would like to see him replicate it first before being added.

As for Jacob Berry, I would add him and remove Jack Winkler. Jacob Berry has proved he still deserves a shot after the championship season he helped lead Jacksonville to. Plus, he is a former first round pick, switch hitter and versatile. 

Dax Fulton and Jared Serna are both players that could be removed if we add someone via free agency, trade or the rule 5 draft.

I would like to know what you all think.

This is simple.
Cut Wagaman, Bellozo, Nardi, Navarreto, Winkler, Serna, Zuber, Soriano, and Tinoco.
Protect Mack, White, and Pushard.

-Wagaman is the worst 1B in the league and it isn't even close. Platooning him helped, but if you're platooning at a position where production is expected, then you've messed up somewhere.
-Bellozo has been dancing through the raindrops his entire 2-year tenure and I'm honestly surprised he hasn't gotten blown up yet. He's a low velo low whiff guy with no spot in the rotation, and his production isn't sustainable. This isn't someone you build a team around.
-The Marlins have been strangely quiet about Nardi's rehab progress and it's honestly starting to scare me. There's a chance he may have thrown his last pitch in MLB.
-Tinoco is going to miss the entirety of next season and it's questionable if he's going to return to form when he does return from injury, especially not with his inconsistent track record.
-Zuber is an unfortunate cut. He's incredibly good at getting hitters to chase pitches out of the zone. That is something to build off of. It's honestly between him and Freddy Tarnok, and I view Tarnok to be more valuable than he is.
-I had this to say about Jared Serna earlier in the month:

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To be honest, I don't know what y'all were expecting from Jared Serna. He's a 5'7 player who lucked into barrels the past couple of seasons. You should've known that his power numbers were going to be unsustainable from the start. Not every 5'7 player can be a Jose Altuve, because Jose Altuve is a unicorn himself, and he is likely Cooperstown-bound, so we shouldn't have unrealistic expectations like this.

-Navarreto is a Minor League Journeyman.
-Who the heck is Jack Winkler?

Furthermore, someone mentioned protecting Jacob Berry, and I literally rolled my eyes. Like, come on. I know I wouldn't make the best General Manager. I'm basically a couch GM at best. But be real with yourself. Do you really see a guy, who, by far and away, posted his best season since signing with us, as the face of the franchise after posting a slugging percentage under .400 AS A FIRST BASEMAN? Keeping him on the 40-man roster is a franchise-killing move. Give up on him already. He's a lost cause.

6 hours ago, Ely Sussman said:

Serna crossed my mind. I was a big believer in him and this season was brutal.

That being said, I'm pretty confident the Marlins will want to re-evaluate him in spring training before making that decision. He'll definitely be under pressure to perform in early 2026 to keep his spot.

They need to re-evaluate him now. Rule 5 is just around the corner.

9 hours ago, Hans Herrera said:

I mean, he had over 400 PAs in AA and performed under .600 OPS, then got promoted to Jacksonville (I guess because his defense and player promotions from JAX to MIA during the season), and even with that small sample of barely over 40 PAs, the only interesting stat was his OBP (.366). 

No way he is deserving a 40-man spot in Miami. I don't think any team is willing to take him a la Nasim Núñez, which means, they probably get to keep him in with the Jumbo Shrimp, and that should be fine.

Absolutely my thoughts. It makes no sense to wait to assess him in Spring Training. Assess him now. And my assessment is he isn't worth protecting. Even if someone takes him via Rule 5, they're not going to hide him on a roster like the Nationals did with Nasim Nunez.

And, as I said before, even if a team takes him and did hide him on the roster (I don't know why they would. He doesn't have the defensive versatility, nor the baserunning, that Nunez had.), what are we really losing out on? He's a 5'7 player who doesn't project particularly well, and his power numbers he posted pre-trade aren't sustainable to expect out of him. Again, he's not Jose Altuve. Nobody will be Jose Altuve. That's a unicorn we're talking about and expecting that kind of production is a fool's errand.

Discussing roster spots and rule 5 protections can be fun, but I have decided to let Bendix do the thinking. I was not a fan and I still want Luzardo back but you cannot argue with the results. I am very much looking forward to how the winter goes and the start of next season. Go Fish!!!