Will the Miami Marlins pursue Brandon Drury?

As owners should be forced to spend on their teams, the Miami Marlins are missing out on free agent targets left and right. The Fish still have a potential target left among all of the free agent hitters still on the market… Brandon Drury is still available. Is he going to move the needle much for us? Not at all, but what else can we do? A trade is still an option and remember we‘re supposed to be patient, if we still believe Kim Ng. So should we sign Brandon Drury?

The Miami Marlins can target Brandon Drury in free agency.

Brandon Drury had a pretty forgettable career until this season. He debuted in 2015 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and batted .214/.254/.375 in 20 games and 56 AB. In 2016, he batted .282/.329/.458 in 134 games and 461 AB. He followed that up in 2017 with a .267/.317/.447 batting line in 135 games and 445 AB.

Drury split the 2018 season between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, batting an abysmal .169/.256/.260. He spent the next two seasons with Toronto. In 2019 he batted .218/.262/.380 in 120 games and 418 AB. In the shortened 2020 season he batted .152/.184/.174. In 2021 with the New York Mets, Drury batted .274/.307/.476 in 51 games and 84 AB.

2022 was Drury‘s big breakout season. He played with the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, and batted .263/.320/.492 in 138 games and 518 AB. He hit 28 home runs and drove in 87 RBI. Drury had an 89.2 Exit Velocity and this was the first time that he hit 20 home runs or more. He’s going to be 30 next season.

So should the Miami Marlins sign him? I don’t see it as a very good idea, (though it depends a lot on the price). I have serious questions on whether he’ll actually be productive enough in 2023. I suspect that he won’t be moving the needle much and might even struggle like he did for most of his career. I feel as if he’ll be a disappointing signing, he’s certainly not the middle of the order bat that we need.

I don’t know if the Miami Marlins will sign Brandon Drury. I don’t even know if The Fish will target him? The only thing I know for sure though is that he’s not what we need. I think he’s fine on a cheap deal, but not if he’s our best hitting acquisition.