Miami Marlins Extension Candidate Series No. 10: Peter Bendix

As you might have heard, the Miami Marlins don't tend to spend a lot of money on payroll.

However, you might have also heard something about them eliminating the high spending New York Mets from playoff contention last week. You might also have heard tell of Miami's seventeen game improvement upon 2024, the largest leap in franchise history. Clearly, something is working in South Florida despite their financial limitations.

Look no further than Peter Bendix, the Miami Marlins President of Baseball Operations.

And that's where this special series detailing the Top Ten members of the Miami Marlins organization most worthy of a contract extension starts, with the man behind the curtain of the Marlins' doing more with less act. Bendix went on record himself last week calling the 2025 campaign proof of concept for all that he and his many front office hires have tried to do since taking over two years ago. That seventeen game jump in the standings makes him very hard to argue with.

Which is all the more reason for making sure Bendix stays put ranking very high on the Marlins offseason to do list for majority owner Bruce Sherman. Most front office contracts tend to run four years, which would have Bendix halfway through. That also means he might be halfway out the door, with the final year being one where the entire landscape of the sport could potentially change depending on how those CBA negotiations shake out. If he proves himself as adept at team building as Dodgers President and fellow ex-Ray Andrew Friedman, why wouldn't some organization willing to give him more money to play with pounce? No matter what happens with salary caps, salary floors, broadcast revenues, and all the rest, it's not hard to see more teams than usual making changes over the next couple years.

If Sherman thinks he finally has the right person steering the ship, the time to extend is now. Not later.

Perhaps this is just the contrast talking between the Marlins and the Miami Dolphins, a franchise that public perception sees as having been run deeper into the ground than an asteroid by general manager Chris Grier. Looking at another crosstwon rival, most fans still have some reverence for Pat Riley, but trust in the Miami Heat's Godfather is eroding faster than Miami's beaches. Bendix has quickly jumped to the front of the line with the only the Panthers Bill Zito in front, and all real doubt about the Marlins being tied to the man cutting the checks, not the people running the day to day operations. While plenty of jokes were made in 2024 about Miami spending so much on the front office and not on payroll, this is a case where some further off the field investment could play well with the ticket buying public.

Because, ultimately, there is a reason this article started with a reference towards spending. The perception remains that the Miami Marlins have a spending problem, or rather, a lack of spending problem. Yes, they now seem to have a sense of direction. Yes, there are now signs they might actually be able to develop offensive talent. Yes, there have even been a couple signs they might be the smart ones in trades as of late. But the Marlins will have to eventually pay someone to avoid risking another grievance being filed for their penury, and anytime they do spend, it gets quickly held up as evidence to the fans that the franchise is actually doing so.

Thus the reason for this series on the top Miami Marlins extension candidates. As MLB Trade Rumors note, Sherman is on the hook for very little heading into next season at the moment. That's going to need the change to keep fans and league officials happy. If signing top tier free agents isn't going to be in the cards, making a comparably modest investment now in players that could become superstars later makes sense.

The only thing that makes more sense? Locking up the person suddenly viewed by those inside the industry and out as being the best thing the Marlins front office has seen in a long time at figuring out who those future productive players are going to be.

Time to lock up Bendix.