Kim Ng and the Miami Marlins front office: A mid-term grade
By Bill Felber
Free agency
If Arraez was a steal, the big free agent decision Ng made has gone the other way. She gave Jean Segura $19.5 million to play infield for Miami through 2025. Segura, a 33-year-old formerly with the Phillies, has responded with perhaps the worst first half of his career, a .195 average and just two home runs in 62 games. That’s a leaden -2.4 WAA.
In a statistical sense, then, Segura has undermined everything Arraez has given the Marlins.
He’s also the worst of an undistinguished nine-player free agent crop. Yuli Gurriel was in that crop, so were Johnny Cueto, Garrett Hampson, Chi Chi Gonzalez and Devin Smeltzer. Through the first half of 2023, not one of them has produced a positive WAA for the Marlins.
Gurriel has seen the most playing time, basically operating as the team’s default first baseman. He’s hitting a decent .268, but his lack of extra base power — three homers, 16 RBI — reduces his WAA contribution to -0.4.
Ng has kept her free agent departures down to the absolute minimum. In fact, there’s been only one player who was released, then signed on with another MLB team.
The lone exception was third baseman Brian Anderson, who following his winter release found work in Milwaukee. With the Brewers, he has generated a -0.4 WAA.