A veteran starter would be a nice addition to a promising Miami Marlins rotation.
A big area of intrigue heading into 2021 will be the Miami Marlins pitching staff. Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Elieser Hernandez, and Sixto Sanchez were all impressive in 2020 and looking to build on that success, but they are a young group (all 25 and under) who will need some veteran help to get through a 162-game schedule.
As of right now, LHP Trevor Rogers is slotted as the fifth starter on Fangraphs’ Roster Resource. He showed some flashes in his few outings last season, but he’s also a young arm (23) who may not be ready for 30+ MLB starts as soon as next season.
Everyone but Rogers is a right-handed option, so let’s look at the veteran LHP market for a low-cost signing to mix it up a bit.
There a few intriguing options here, such as Brett Anderson (58% groundball rate, 5% walk rate), which is the type of signing the Marlins would likely target in this situation, but let’s look at someone who will have to take a very cheap deal yet possesses a notable bit of upside.
How about a Jose Quintana? Quintana threw just 10 innings last season due to thumb surgery, but he’s been a 3-4 WAR pitcher just about every other season in the majors since 2013.
From 2013-2019, Quintana threw at least 170 innings in each season, including four seasons of 200+ inning workloads. He isn’t a high strikeout pitcher but he does a good job of keeping the ball on the ground and a fairly good job of limiting walks.
Quintana may have multiple suitors due to his upside and low cost, but if the Marlins could land him and he’s healthy in 2021, Quintana would be a solid piece to mix into the backend of the rotation and a veteran arm to help out a very young and promising pitching staff.
We know the Miami Marlins are going to be quiet this offseason, but they are going to be smart. With Kim Ng running the show now, it’s only a matter of time before the Marlins are a must-watch product.