Miami Marlins giving Chris Bostick a chance to stick

The Miami Marlins acquired Chris Bostick from the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving the utility player a chance to stick at the major league level.

It is going to be a long road back to respectability for the Miami Marlins. The rebuilding process has truly just begun, as now the Marlins need to find pieces that can be a part of the future. For the most part, those players will be younger prospects, potential building blocks acquired as the former stars were traded away.

However, not every piece of the future will end up being a star. The Marlins are going to need to find role players and possible utility men as well. They may have landed that exact type of player in Chris Bostick, who they acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for the ever popular cash considerations.

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To this point, Bostick has not had much of a chance to prove himself at the major league level. He has appeared in just 22 games, for a total of 34 plate appearances, over the past two seasons. In that time, he has put together a respectable .276/.382/.345 batting line. Over his minor league career, the former 44th round draft pick has a .271/.337/.416 batting line with 60 homers, 180 doubles,  and 122 steals in his 3491 plate appearances. He has struck out only 704 times over his minor league career, while drawing 272 walks. Bostick has also been a solid utility player in the minors, having spent time at second, third, short, and all three outfield positions.

That experience around the diamond could prove to be his calling card with the Marlins. While he is not likely to be a power threat, Bostick does have solid contact ability and excellent speed. It would not be a surprise to see him as a decent bench option, a player that gets into the lineup three times a week at various positions.

Players like this have become valuable over the past few years. The Ben Zobrist and Marwin Gonzalez type of players have been key to successful franchises, a semi-regular who can player virtually anywhere on the diamond. While Bostick may not turn into another Zobrist or Gonzalez, or even another Brock Holt, those players were not highly regarded at the time of their ascension to the majors either.

The Miami Marlins could have a building block for the future with Chris Bostick. He may not become a star, but he could be the type of player that every team needs.