Former Marlins Outfielder and Slugger Signs With Division Rival
The Miami Marlins have questions about their power production this season.
Having hit only 166 homers last season, thirty below the MLB average of 196, and then losing Jorge Soler's 36 homers to free agency has led to legitimate questions about how the Marlins replace that production in 2024.
And one of the available options that could have helped with that, a former Marlins outfielder, just came off the board with the news that Adam Duvall has signed with the Atlanta Braves.
To add insult to injury, it's a one-year deal for only $3M, an easily manageable total for Miami to carry if they had been so inclined.
As a reminder, Duvall signed a one-year, $2M contract with the Marlins for the 2021 season. Appearing in 91 games, Duvall batted .229 with 22 home runs before being traded back to Atlanta at the trade deadline for catcher Alex Jackson.
(Jackson has since left the organization, being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in early 2022 and then getting traded again, going to the Rays last August.)
But Duvall's shown his ability to take over a game when he gets hot - opening the season in Boston last year, Duvall batted .455/.514/1.030 in the team's first eight games, hitting four homers. A fractured wrist caused him to miss two months, and he hit closer to his career norms after returning.
The space was there to carry Duvall in Miami
Miami's outfield is seemingly loaded, with the quartet of Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jesus Sanchez, Bryan De La Cruz, and Avisaíl García all contending for everyday starts. But García, who signed in December of 2021 as a Duvall replacement, has been an unmitigated disaster in Miami.
Signing for four years and $53M, García has batted only .215/.260/.316 over his 135 games in Miami, hitting only 11 homers. He's owed $24M over the next two seasons from Miami, and it's enough to qualify as highway robbery. General Manager Peter Bendix will undoubtedly continue carrying him on the roster in an effort to see if Miami can get any sort of return on the investment, but his presence was undoubtedly one of the only things preventing Miami from offering this exact same contract and playing time arrangement to Duvall.
Managing Editor for Blackerby Media, covering the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins Also: Senior Baseball Writer for Auburn Daily, member of both the National College Baseball Writers Association and Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (where he won the 2023 Prospects, Minors, & College Writer of the Year award)