Marlins open-minded with free agency underway

MIAMI -- With last week's General Managers Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., behind them, the Marlins enter the Hot Stove season with a better understanding of how the free agent and trade markets are shaping up.

Unlike the past two years, when Miami was in a full-scale building mode and traded away All-Star and MVP-caliber players, the organization is now focused on upgrading the big league roster.

After losing 105 games in 2019 and 98 in ’18, ownership has created a sense of urgency to improve.

The Marlins have made it clear they are open to all options, including signing established free agents. They’ve already been linked to several proven veterans, including Nicholas Castellanos, Yasiel Puig, Justin Smoak and Howie Kendrick.

“All of the prospects and the Minor League awards are tremendous,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “But, we want to take that step at the Major League level.”

MLB.com explores Miami's four takeaways from last week’s GM Meetings:

1. Building a sustainable franchise
Whichever direction the Marlins go to upgrade, they have made it clear they aren't looking for quick fixes or going all in to make a one-year run. The wide-lens goal is to build something sustainable.

Obviously, there is plenty of work to do, especially after back-to-back last place finishes. But the plan from the first day the ownership group headed by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter took over remains the same.

“How we've approached it from Day 1 was to build something sustainable,” Hill said. “You build it on a solid foundation, so you have an opportunity, year in and year out, to compete.”

2. Promoting from the pipeline
As open as the Marlins are to making trades, they’re also going to be extremely hesitant to deal their high-end prospects. For good reason, they’ve spent the past two years building the system, so they don’t want to fall back to where they were a few years back -- having a big league core and little depth.

According to MLB Pipeline, Miami now has a top four farm system, compared to ranking at or near the bottom two years ago.

This doesn’t mean prospects won’t be dealt. But if they are, the Marlins likely will seek high-end prospects, especially close to being big league ready, in return.

3. Retaining controllable pitching
Even before the GM Meetings got underway, clubs were calling the Marlins regarding their young, controllable starters. Caleb Smith has four more seasons of club control and Sandy Alcantara was an All-Star as a rookie. Pablo López fits into the mix, but he is looking to bounce back after missing time with a right shoulder injury. And prospects Sixto Sánchez, Nick Neidert and Edward Cabrera are each expected to reach the big leagues at some point in 2020. And lefties Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers could be a year away from being ready.

“Our pitching is very popular, as you would expect,” Hill said. “I think with a little bit of our history, teams know that we will make trades.”

Although none of them are expected to be dealt, the possibility exits. After all, no one saw it coming that Miami would deal rookie right-hander Zac Gallen, after seven big league starts, to the D-backs in July for shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm.

“In Zac Gallen's case, he turned into another championship-caliber piece,” Hill said. “We believe in Jazz Chisholm.”

4. Offense remains the top priority
Upgrading an offense that ranked second to last in the Majors in runs and last in home runs is the top offseason priority.

It’s a matter of which direction to go. Free agency -- while it may cost dollars -- won’t deplete the prospect inventory. Plus, even with some new additions, Miami is still a ways away from contending, which magnifies the importance of retaining as many prospects as possible.

In other words, don’t bank on the Marlins dealing a prospect haul for a star like Francisco Lindor, who is two years away from free agency. Such trades don’t appear to fit into the long-term plan.

“I'm always open to ideas,” Hill said. “You have to be in this process. But I'm also mindful that we've traded away a lot of good talent to build the depth that we have, so we're going to act wisely and judiciously as we look at ways to improve.”