Marlins Roster News: Three players hit free agency, one player added to 40-Man Roster

With the Houston Astros’ somewhat anti-climatic title clincher officially in the books, the offseason and all it’s various machinations has begun, and it promises to be one of the more interesting offseasons on record, as far as the Miami Marlins are concerned.

Who will be traded? Who will stay? Who will go? We don’t have the answers to all those questions yet, but we do know the status of at least four players involved with the Fish.

Yesterday morning was the official start of free agency, and the Marlins have three players in particular who now are, officially, free agents.

Mike Aviles

Had things gone according to plan, Aviles may not have seen the field at all in 2017, but the trade of Adeiny Hechavarria to the Tampa Bay Rays and the subsequent injuries endured between JT Riddle and Miguel Rojas opened up a roster spot and some playing time for the nine-year veteran.

Predictably, he didn’t do much with it, batting .233/.298/.291, hitting one home run and driving in eight in a little shy of 100 plate appearances. He will spend the twilight of his baseball career as AAAA depth for another ball club.

AJ Ellis

Ellis was brought in by the Marlins on a one-year deal to replace the departing Jeff Mathis. Known throughout the league as a sound game-caller (and as the preferred battery mate to one Clayton Kershaw), Marlins brass were probably looking for someone who could get the most out of a rotation projected to struggle a bit, and maybe as another ear for still-young catcher JT Realmuto to bend.

In that sense, he served his purpose. Everyone knew he wasn’t going to provide much at the plate and so no one was disappointed by the end result (.210/.298/.371). One day we’ll see Ellis at the top of a dugout step with a clipboard and a dour expression on his face, but for now, he’ll latch on as a back-up elsewhere while the Marlins perhaps look internally to cover the back-up catcher position.

Dustin McGowan

In a year where the bullpen was anticipated to pick up a lot of innings, Dustin McGowan ended up throwing the most (77.2) for the Marlins. The final numbers weren’t that pretty (4.75/4.81) but also don’t entirely reflect his value to the ball club.

With the partial rebuild looming just over the horizon, it’s hard to see the Marlins wanting to spend much on bullpen pieces, probably preferring to see what they have on their hands internally, so I imagine the Marlins will be thanking Mr. McGowan for his two seasons here and allowing him to eat up innings for someone else.

LHP Miguel Del Pozo added to 40-Man Roster

Del Pozo, if you’re just hearing about him for the first time here, is a 25-year-old left hander who pitched quite well in 25 plus innings between four different Marlins’ minor league teams this season. His upside pegs his as a potential set-up guy, and he might be ready to contribute as soon as 2018. The move to place him on the 40-Man was ostensibly to keep him from becoming a minor league free agent.

Between Del Pozo’s addition and the aforementioned trio’s subtraction, the 40-Man roster now sits at 34 players.

Ex-Marlins turned free agents

Former Marlins hitting the open market include Fernando Rodney, Craig Breslow, Anibal Sanchez, Cameron Maybin, Jose Reyes, Michael Morse, Steve Cishek, Logan Morrison, Andrew Cashner, Jason Grilli, Alejandro De Aza and Edwin Jackson.