Spring training just got interesting for Miami Marlins

It was looking like a competition free camp for the Miami Marlins, but that’s no longer true with Yuli Gurriel and Jose Iglesias signing recently.

It wasn’t supposed to be an exciting spring training for the Miami Marlins.

Well, at least not in terms of roster battles anyway. Certainly there were going to be some interesting storylines. Luis Arraez and Jean Segura being added to the roster. Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler being healthy. Jazz Chisholm, and many others, playing out of position. Not to mention all those new rule changes. Roster battles though? Outside of a single bullpen spot, that wasn’t really supposed to be on the menu.

No longer the case, thanks to a couple minor league contracts the Miami Marlins came to terms on Thursday. Yuli Gurriel and Jose Iglesias are now part of the organization.

And just like that, spring camp just got very interesting for Miami.

Why? Because the team just added a former batting champion and a plus defender to the mix. This camp is no longer just about learning new positions, or learning who gets to be voted Miami’s “seventh-most rosterable reliever.” Suddenly, the makeup of half Miami’s bench, and perhaps even half the starting lineup, is very much in question.

Yuli Gurriel gives the Marlins a true backup first baseman, and one that is arguably a better defender than starter Garrett Cooper. Gurriel also puts the Marlins in the position of possessing the last two AL batting champions. If he can even recapture half of that magic, or even turn in his career average numbers, he can be a viable starter himself, pushing Cooper to full-time DH, and Soler into a full-time outfielder role. That seriously deepens the lineup.

Of course, that’s a very upside case. The more likely candidate for regular playing time is actually Iglesias. All reports already indicate that a full on lefty/righty platoon with Joey Wendle looks like the plan at shortstop. Iglesias hit .295 against lefties last season, and, at least if you go by career evidence at a natural position to date, would unquestionably be Miami’s best infield defender.

As for Miami’s bench? That gets tricky now. Seemingly every Marlins infield prospect has taken a turn at first so far this spring. None of those services are looking particularly needed at the moment, if Gurriel and Iglesias can prove they have even the teensiest bit of baseball prowess left to be squeezed out of them. Jon Berti and Nick Fortes remain obvious locks, but those last two spots? Just a week ago, retaining both Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez seemed possible. Garrett Hampson was talked up daily as a gritty veteran that could play anywhere on the diamond. One of those rookie infielders was probably going to make it.

Now? It might just be one of them. Multiple players that thought they had a job all but secured with Miami will be starting the season in Jacksonville or Pensacola instead.

Bottom-line? After a slow camp, it’s now a true battle out there for roster spots.

More importantly, the Miami Marlins might have just gotten substantially better.