Marlins front office off to slow start in 2021-2022 offseason

The Miami Marlins front office hyped this offseason as one where they’d be actively signing and trading for immediate impact players. So far, their only addition to the roster has been 31-year-old relief pitcher Louis Head. Nearly two months removed from Miami’s final 2021 regular season game, the team has not significantly improved.

While the Marlins got Head, the Mets just went on a Black Friday shopping spree. The NL East rivals signed three potential targets away from the Marlins. All-Star third baseman Eduardo Escobar was the first to sign with the Mets as he inked a two-year/$20 million contract. Escobar was a player that Marlins captain and shortstop Miguel Rojas wanted in Miami.

Within hours, the Mets reached an agreement with former Oakland A’s outfielder Mark Canha. The Mets signed the 32-year-old outfielder to a two-year deal worth $26.5 million. Canha had been mentioned before as a potential target for the Marlins to play left field.

That was followed up by the Mets’ big splash signing: former Marlins center fielder Starling Marte. Marte’s four-year deal is worth $78 million. The Marlins made an offer to Marte, but weren’t willing to match New York’s guaranteed dollar amount, according to the Miami’s Herald Barry Jackson.

Right now, the Marlins offense that even Kim Ng acknowledged was not good enough remains unaddressed. With the MLB and MLBPA still fighting over the sport’s new collective bargaining agreement, their shopping is just days away from being interrupted by a probable lockout.

Another area where the Marlins were strangely inactive was protecting prospects from the Rule 5 draft. Productive offensive players like Griffin Conine and Bryson Brigman were not selected to the 40-man roster, leaving them eligible to be snatched away by the other MLB teams. Conine is one of the top power-hitting prospects in all of baseball as he blasted 36 total homers at High-A and Double-A. The more contact-oriented Brigman had a really productive season at Triple-A, slashing .282/.361/.399 with 106 hits, 19 doubles, five home runs and ten stolen bases.

Although their 40-man roster was technically “full” entering last week’s protection deadline, the Marlins could have easily made room for them by cutting dead weight like Isan Díaz, Jorge Alfaro, Paul Campbell and others.

The Fish have done some good things like finalize a two-year/$10 million contract extension with Rojas. It also looks like they’ll soon extend their ace pitcher, Sandy Alcantara, to a five-year deal north of $55 million (pending some “miniscule” contract details).

This Marlins offseason isn’t a complete bust just yet—there are plenty more free agent bats in their price range, not to mention a wide universe of trade possibilities to consider.

If the lockout is settled in a timely manner, there will be a traditional 162-game schedule for the 2022 season. Consequently, this will drive many passionate fans and bettors alike to look for the best betting sites for Marlins game previews and odds. And, due to their careful examination and expert ranking of betting sites, places like SBO are top advisors to check out - they even gather websites where you can edit your bets or build them, which can really help in the upcoming Marlins season.

With a lockout looming, the Marlins front office should add a player to their roster that’s going to be an upgrade offensively. Failing to do so would create more desperation for them during the post-lockout portion of the offseason. They’re currently at risk of fielding a mediocre team and playing in an empty stadium for the 2022 season.