Miami Marlins 2021 Position Preview: Third Base No Contest

What will Miami Marlins do at 3B if injury strikes?

As to what the Miami Marlins will do if Anderson misses significant time, the answer is probably going to be asking everyone to just take a jump to the left.

No, we’re not teaching the Time Warp. We are just taking advantage of the fact that with the notable exception of Jesus Aguilar– pretty sure no one wants to see that man play second- everyone in this infield is fully capable of doing the job of the person next to them. As was covered extensively in our Marlins middle infield preview, the next best option at third base for Miami is actually their starting shortstop. Likewise, the next option at shortstop is probably going to be the starting second baseman.

Now, a case could be made that moving everyone over would just create unnecessary confusion.  But Miguel Rojas moving over seems the most likely scenario to me because it would create an opportunity for Jazz Chisholm to play his natural position of shortstop. That seems more valuable than worrying about throwing off the rhythm of an infield where almost everyone is multi-eligible. Expect Rojas, with Jon Berti the only other option, to man third if Anderson goes down.

Of course, there is one other injury scenario that could create the need for someone other than Anderson to play third base. And it’s a scenario in which Anderson is still fully healthy. What if there’s an early season issue in the outfield?

Remember, last season was the first time since Anderson’s rookie year (2017) that he didn’t log significant innings in the outfield. In full credit to his athleticism, he’s actually a plus defender there, with good range and a great arm. Should one of Miami’s veteran outfielders get injured, or if there’s a Covid scenario, that could be enough to push Anderson off of third if the team decides to take the approach that keeps as many top bats in the lineup as possible. Especially since there seems to be some injury concern with Miami’s other IF/OF capable corner, Garrett Cooper.

All that said, it would be a surprise if Anderson plays an inning somewhere other than third base in 2021- unless some last minute agreement is reach on using the DH in the NL.

The Miami Marlins have short-term and long-term plans in place for almost every position on the diamond heading into this season. But third base is truly unique in that both those plans feature the same player.