While the Tigers and Royals both saw big year-to-year win jumps in 2024, the Marlins went in the opposite direction. The Marlins lost 100 games in 2024, 22 more than in 2023 when Miami made it to the playoffs. The Marlins’ downturn, caused largely by subpar production in key injuries, allowed Miami to jumpstart a rebuild. But, it came with pain. Here’s our 2024 recap of the Miami Marlins.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 637 | 27th |
| Home Runs | 150 | 27th |
| OPS | .678 | 26th |
| Whiff% | 26.8% | 23rd |
| Hard Hit% | 36.8% | 25th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 5.24 | 29th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.15 | 22nd |
| Strikeouts | 1,317 | 23rd |
| Whiff% | 24.4% | 23rd |
| Chase% | 27.2% | 28th |
The Good
There were some success stories for the Marlins in 2024, despite the rough season. Namely, the rise of Xavier Edwards.
Edwards was a first-round pick in 2018 by the Padres who got his first real look in the Majors in 2024. The 25-year-old earned it, as Edwards hit .351/.429/.457 and stole 32 bases with Jacksonville (AAA) in 2023.
While Edwards doesn’t have much pop — a roughly 30 on the 20-80 scale — he was a sparkplug for Miami last season. Edwards hit .328 and stole 31 bases for the Marlins last season over 70 games. There’s not a lot of tricks to his game. Edwards hit at all levels in the Minors, has a short swing, and choked up on two strikes. That’s a recipe for success.
Miami’s didn’t have much pop on their team, as we’ll go over in the next section. The Marlins had just one player who hit 20 or more home runs, and he was Jake Burger. Burger hit 29 home runs and drove in a team-high 76 RBI.
The Marlins did receive strong returns from former A’s prospect Jonah Bride (.818 OPS) and ex-Oriole Connor Norby (.760 OPS). Norby hit seven home runs over 36 games and could be a sleeper in 2025.
On the mound, Miami’s best success stories turned out to be in their bullpen.
Tanner Scott, before he was traded to San Diego, was dominant. Scott posted a 1.18 ERA and struck out 53 over 45.2 IP, thanks to a devastating fastball/slider combo. But after Scott was dealt, the Marlins saw Calvin Faucher and Jesus Tinoco take over the late-innings.
Faucher struck out 63 over 53.2 IP last season and picked up six saves.
Tinoco, though, might have been the best story for the Marlins in 2024. The 29-year-old broke out a vastly different setup in 2024, compared to past season. He lowered his arm angle from 36°in 2022 to 25° in 2024, something that can help with deception and generating movement on the sinker.
His sinker’s horizonal movement jumped almost a full inch compared to 2022 and he paired it with a nearly-unhittable slider (.097 AVG). Tinoco struck out 30 over 26.2 IP, gave up six runs with Miami, and notched three saves late in the season.
Both Faucher and Tinoco are poised to be very important for Miami in 2025, especially since their bullpen will look quite different than in Opening Day 2024. In addition to Scott, A.J. Puk was traded to Miami last summer. Those were just two names moved in what was a season of change in South Florida.
The Bad
No team in the National League had fewer runs scored than the Marlins. While Miami did see some success stories come out of their 2024 season, there weren’t enough for the Marlins to avoid a 100-loss campaign.
Among regular Marlin players in 2024 (min. 100 GP), only two (Xavier Edwards and Jake Burger) had an OPS+ above 100. Miami finished in the bottom half of the league in slugging. The Marlins finished 28th in on-base percentage (.300), despite the fact their leadoff man Xavier Edwards recorded a .397 OBP.
That combination proved to be one that did Miami in last season.
Now, how the Marlins got there was interesting. Miami wasn’t particularly active last winter but did make the notable addition of former All-Star Tim Anderson after he was not retained by the White Sox. The Marlins also had key pieces from their 2023 team, Luis Arraez and Josh Bell, return to at least start the year. Miami didn’t have star slugger, Jorge Soler, for 2024 but the structure was there for the Marlins to at least be competitive.
Miami, though, quickly shifted course after a 7-24 start.
By the end of the season, Anderson was DFA’d after 63 games and a .463 OPS. Bell (89 OPS+) was traded to Arizona, while Luis Arraez was sent to San Diego in a May mega-deal. A few months later, Miami accelerated their rebuild by trading Jazz Chisholm Jr. (97 OPS+) to the Yankees and Bryan De La Cruz (90 OPS+) to a power-needy Pirates team. The Marlins also added Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby in a trade with Baltimore for Trevor Rogers.
The course correction gave the Marlins to pick up organization depth for veterans — some of whom underperformed to expectations.
As for Miami’s pitching, the Marlins rotation was besieged by injuries before 2024 even began. Sandy Alcantara was set to miss all of the season but Miami quickly loss Eury Perez, as well. Perez was electric in 2023 thanks to power stuff but needed Tommy John surgery. His recovery will bleed into 2025.
Braxton Garrett only made seven starts in 2024. Jesus Luzardo dealt with numerous injuries, including a lumbar stress reaction.
With all of that depth gone, it’s not shocking to see why Miami starters went from 8th to 29th in ERA and why their pitching production, overall, was down from 2023.
Early Projected Lineup for 2025
- C: Nick Fortes/Agustin Ramirez
- 1B: Jonah Bride
- 2B: Otto Lopez
- 3B: Connor Norby
- SS: Xavier Edwards
- OF: Kyle Stowers (LF), Derek Hill (CF), Jesus Sanchez (RF)
- DH: Jake Burger
- SP: Jesus Luzardo, Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera, Valente Bellozo
- RP: Calvin Faucher, Anthony Bender, Andrew Nardi, Jesus Tinoco, Declan Cronin, Mike Baumann, Xzavion Curry, George Soriano
Next season could be much better for the Marlins’ rotation. Sandy Alcantara threw live BP before the end of the 2024 campaign and could be ready by Opening Day 2025. Braxton Garrett (elbow) and Jesus Luzardo will look for healthier seasons in 2025.
Eury Perez likely won’t be available for the start of 2025 after he had Tommy John surgery in last spring but could be an option later in the year.
As for their lineup, Miami could see an infusion of pop for a team that lacked it in 2024. Agustin Ramirez, acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade, hit 25 home runs between Double and Triple-A last season and could make his MLB debut next season.
Deyvison De Los Santos, acquired for Josh Bell, had 40 home runs in the Minors last season and showed just why he was a Rule 5 Draft pick last winter. He didn’t stick in Cleveland but might be ready for 2025.