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With the offseason officially underway after the conclusion of the World Series, the Miami Marlins made a pair of expected roster moves late last week.
On Thursday, the Marlins reinstated outfielder Marcell Ozuna from the 60-day disabled list in a move that put the team's 40-man roster at 32.
Before getting injured, Ozuna was having a solid year both offensively and defensively although he was in a slump prior to going down. He batted .265 in 70 games and got on base at a .303 clip. Miami promoted Ozuna because of Giancarlo Stanton's injury and the inconsistency of Justin Ruggiano.
Ozuna played all three outfield spots in his time with the Marlins. He is expected to be completely healthy and prepared come Spring Training, however Miami's challenge will be finding a place for him to play. Giancarlo Stanton, Jake Marisnick, and Chrsitian Yelich are expected to make up Miami's starting outfield, though Ozuna may see time in the lineup if Marisnick struggles at the plate.
Miami also exercised the $1 million club option on right-handed pitcher Jacob Turner, locking him up for next season. Turner started 2013 in Triple-A to work on control issues, but eventually became a key part of the Marlins' starting rotation.
Over 20 starts, he posted a 3.74 ERA despite a 3-8 record. Turner, like many other Marlins pitchers, wasn't given a lot of run support. Turner's biggest concern is the number of walks issued. He averaged 4.1 per nine innings last season.
Matt Diaz, Austin Kearns, Juan Pierre, Chad Qualls and Placido Polanco are all eligible for free agency and aren't expected to resign with Miami.
Every team is given five days to negotiate with their free agent candidates before the players can test the market. Of the five, Qualls is most likely to stay because of the mutual interest and how effective he was coming out of the bullpen last season.
Pierre's career may be over, and Polanco was seen as a temporary third base solution for the Marlins.
Free agents will be eligible to sign with other clubs starting on Tuesday. Miami has already reported their desire to find cheap but valuable players on the free agent market.
"What our fans I hope are realizing is, we don't have to worry about the ballpark anymore, because we have one," Samson said in an interview with MLB.com. "They don't have to worry about the Marlins ever relocating or anything like that, because they're here to stay. Now, we all have to worry about winning more games."