The Miami Marlins continue to dip their toe into the shallow end of the free agent pool, adding veteran Curtis Granderson to their outfield mix.
Seems like the Miami Marlins are loving themselves some former Yankees of late. One week to the day after adding Neil Walker, the Fish signed Curtis Granderson to a minor league deal Tuesday morning.
This represents an extremely low risk, high reward move for the Marlins organization. Again, it’s a minor league deal. Walker is locked in to a major league deal, and is arguably just as likely to make Miami regret the decision. Granderson would need to make the team, and play well, to cost the same amount of money for an allegedly cash strapped franchise.
Both moves have made plenty of sense for a lineup as power starved as what the Miami Marlins are currently featuring. Granderson should easily post double digit HR totals if he gets at least 300 AB. The man he’s essentially replacing, Cameron Maybin, managed a paltry three dingers in 2018. Furthermore, Granderson’s 2018 OBP was only bested by Brian Anderson.
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That’s right, even J.T. Realmuto trailed Granderson in that vital metric.
However, it’s the Brian Anderson comparison that’s worth going back to, because the Granderson signing raises some questions about how the Miami Marlins plan to use their 2018 ROY finalist.
Assuming that Lewis Brinson is indeed a lock to start, that leaves two outfield spots. Granderson feels more like a starter than a bench player. If that’s the case, is Anderson guaranteed a return to right field? Third base is his natural position, and the Miami Marlins system currently does not feature another third baseman worth getting excited about.
To be sure, trading Realmuto for Nick Senzel or Jonathan India changes that overnight. But as currently constituted, the Marlins seem like they would be better off running with Anderson at the hot corner. Martin Prado’s health cannot be counted on at this stage, nor is their much reason to regularly start him if available. At worst, the pair need to split time at the position.
Granderson has every appearance of being a hedge bet as the Marlins wait to see what happens with Realmuto and the rest of the market. Adding Walker and Granderson should yield dividends for Miami. Yet neither move looks like the significant infusion of offense the organization has implied they will make once the Realmuto issue is settled.
Most of the names left out there that could possibly make sense for the Miami Marlins to add- Carlos Gonzlez, Marwin Gonzalez, even Adam Jones- all play the outfield. Any of those names signing would seem to all but guarantee Anderson is your starting third baseman come Opening Day.
So right now, Miami Marlins fans should be cautiously optimistic about Granderson. But looking ahead, the most interesting thing about the move is honestly what it could mean for other players in the lineup.