Miami Marlins: Three Offseason Blunders Made This Winter

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It could have been a productive offseason for the Miami Marlins. Instead, it was a winter of questionable decisions.

The Miami Marlins’ offseason can be described as mediocre at best. They failed to add any true firepower to the roster while remaining pretty lax on impact moves. The starting lineup was already in good shape, but other areas needed a whole lot of work.

Last year’s Marlins squad finished 79-82. This was enough to put them in third place among the National League East teams. Their biggest loss came in late September when ace Jose Fernandez tragically died in a boating accident. Heading into the offseason, finding a true number-one starter seemed like an appropriate goal to achieve.

This wasn’t the only thing Miami had on their to-do list. Polishing other areas was also a need. Although they tried, the roster looks no better than it did at the end of last year. They also lack the minor league talent to fix this via trade. This, above all else, will make it difficult to overcome their offseason shortcomings.

The Marlins have had a bad string of poor transactions. From the big contract handed to pitcher Wei-Yin Chen last winter to the Andrew Cashner trade at last year’s trade deadline, the Marlins have racked up a streak of underwhelming decisions. This offseason, three moves they made (or didn’t make) stand out above the rest. Whether they were overpaying for players, signing the wrong guys, or failing to take action at all, the Marlins’ offseason was full of mistakes.

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Edinson Volquez Signing

If the mission was to add a fourth or fifth starter then the Edinson Volquez signing was a great one by the Marlins. However, this was not the case. Miami signed him because they needed someone to compete for the Opening Day start.

Replacing Fernandez seemed like a mission for Miami this winter. It did, unfortunately, come in a year when not many solid options were available in free agency. Volquez was one of the more experienced choices among unemployed starters, so the Marlins went with him. The $9 million he’ll earn in 2017 and $13 guaranteed for 2018 are not going to crash the Miami payroll anytime soon. Still, they could have made better choices. After all, Jason Hammel just signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals for $6 million less than Miami will pay Volquez. Coincidentally, Volquez was non-tendered by the Royals earlier this offseason.

Prior to 2016, this would have been a praise-worthy transaction. Volquez was reliable during the last few seasons. His 2015 World Series was a remarkable ride. This was not the case last year, as he went 10-11 with a 5.37 ERA. The ERA was partly due to several horrifying outings which saw Volquez knocked out early.

Volquez can turn this signing into a positive by reaching back into the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He won a lucky 13 games each of those seasons. The 2014 season was especially solid as he posted a career-low 3.04 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A move back to the National League could yield similar results. However, Volquez was not an especially strong pitcher in his earlier days with the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. So, to think changing leagues will help him is a stretch.

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Jeff Locke Signing

Why, oh why, did the Marlins go after Jeff Locke? It’s the most questionable move of any made by Miami. An ex-teammate of Volquez during their time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Locke has been rather unreliable his entire career. Yet for some reason, the Marlins thought signing him to a one-year deal worth a little over $3 million was the right move to make. To irritate Marlins fans further, the decision came only 10 days after the Pirates released him.

Locke had been a mainstay in the Pirates’ rotation since 2013. That first season he was actually very good and even managed to earn a spot in the All-Star Game. The decline began immediately after as Locke’s ERA went from 3.52 to 3.91 in 2014. Things got much worse with a 4.49 ERA in 2015 and a very unfavorable 5.44 ERA in 2016.

No one should expect Locke to suddenly do much at all with a change of scenery. His strikeout rate dipped to 5.2 K/9 last year. His 1.53 WHIP was another bad sign of things to come for the veteran lefty.

Since the Locke signing, the Marlins have made a trade for Dan Straily. This move was a far wiser one as Straily is coming off a great 2016 campaign with the Cincinnati Reds. By doing this, though, Locke no longer seems to have a place in the Marlins’ rotation. He should get some starts, but he is well behind other candidates for the rotation. This will leave the Marlins with a $3 million mop-up man or possibly even a costly Triple-A pitcher.

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Finding Right-Handed First Baseman

There is still time to fix this final Marlins offseason blunder. Despite knowing how poorly Justin Bour hits lefties, they have yet to find a platoon partner for him. All teams make mistakes. This winter there is no excuse, as plenty of right-handed hitting first basemen were available and at a bargain.

In his career, Bour has slashed only .223/.273/.291 versus southpaws. He has never hit a home run against a left-handed pitcher, either. The Marlins could have solved this by possibly signing guys such as Chris Carter or Mark Reynolds. Both of them signed with their respective 2017 teams at a very low price while also accepting a lesser role. There was no reason for the Marlins to miss out on both.

Unfortunately, no terrific right-handed hitting first baseman remains in free agency. Other than maybe Billy Butler, the Marlins have few options when it comes to finding a platoon partner for Bour. Even he is a below-average option, as power is not his forte nor is his defense something to admire.