Former Miami Marlins hitter is back in the division

As we get ready for the season and look at the Miami Marlins farm system, as we also wait for the team to sign some inning-eaters for the rotation. The Fish now saw a former player sign a Minor League deal with a division rival. What next? Does this affect The Fish in any way? Should he have been brought back to the team here instead?

Former Miami Marlins player has a new team.

There was no real reason for Peter Bendix to bring first baseman Garrett Cooper back. The former fan favorite is clearly not headed for much more in his career, if we're really being honest. The 34 year old had a pretty poor 2024 season. Splitting his time between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox, Cooper batted .206/.267/.299 with a home run and 11 RBI, in 36 games and 107 AB. He was worth an abysmal -0.8 WAR.

He of course used to play for the Miami Marlins. He played for the team from 2018 to 2023 and developed a reputation as a fan favorite. From 2018 to 2022, Cooper batted .273/.349/.439 in 345 games and 1163 AB. He never played an entire season due to unfortunately being injury-prone and so the most he's ever played in a season is 119 games in 2022.

In that 2022 season, Garrett Cooper batted .261/.337/.415, with 9 home runs and 50 RBI in 119 games and 414 AB. It wasn't a great season, as he was worth just 1.0 WAR for that performance. He split the 2023 season between the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. He batted .251/.304/.419 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI, in 123 games and 422 AB.

Garrett Cooper at 34 years old is no longer really good enough to be a starter on a team. At this point, he's just a role player who can contribute from the bench. The Atlanta Braves wanted more bench depth, so they brought him in just for that. If he can of course make the team out of Spring Training before the season starts.