Miami Marlins should consider going after Reds cast offs Hays, Suter for right price

So far it's been a quiet offseason for the Miami Marlins.

Well, it's been quiet for Marlins fans looking for improvements to be made to the big league roster at any rate. Plenty of typical offseason shuffling has occurred, in the hallways of the front office and on the fringes of the 40-man roster. Yet when it comes to a move that will help Miami win more games in 2026? You could argue the team has actually gotten weaker since the curtain closed on the 2025 MLB season.

Fortunately, it's still very early. That typical offseason shuffling? That wasn't a shot at how the Miami Marlins operate- at least not yet. Every MLB team is doing the same thing right now. Clearing space for the bevy of transactions that will follow over the next couple months. Should the Marlins opt to enter January having done nothing of consequence, then those "same old Marlins" jokes can start to fly. Right now, though? Fans of the Fish should expect that President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix is priming his team to pounce.

And the Cincinnati Reds have just given the Marlins a golden opportunity to do so, thanks to some of their own offseason reshuffling. One team's trash can quickly become another team's treasure in MLB. The Reds have deeper pockets and likely higher ambitions for 2026, and are prepping to make a run at one of the bigger ticket free agents before filling out their roster. This gives the clubs with more payroll constraints a chance to potentially take advantage.- especially when some of those cast offs can provide answers at need positions.

Enter Brent Suter and Austin Hays.

In Suter's case, he's a serviceable, veteran left-handed reliever that should come at an affordable price. That's really all that needs to be said for an MLB team that spent far too much of the end of 2026 turning to Josh Simpson when they needed a lefty option out of the bullpen. The Reds demurred picking up his $3 million option after seeing him produce a career worst 4.52 ERA in his 10th big league season. Totally understandable on the Reds part. However, and I promise I take no pleasure in continuing to point out his faults, Simpson finished his first year with the Marlins putting up a 7.34 ERA. Again, a 7.34 ERA.

That's...horrible. Simpson's WHIP? That was 1.82, also awful, whereas Suter's WHIP was 1.28. Even in a career worst year for him, Suter was still a positive WAR contributor with a 0.3 finish. Simpson? That'd be a -1.2 WAR for a year that him do very little to prove he belongs on any team's MLB roster, much less one hoping to be competitive.

Basically, Suter should still be significantly better than the in house option on the field, and would also bring all those fun, veteran intangibles that Miami's bullpen lacked in 2025. The MLB Trade Rumors report linked earlier described him as a real positive in that regard, so it would appear there's a track record of him actually putting in the work as a teammate, and this not just being a case of adding a veteran hoping for the best. Miami would still need to add a closer candidate, but signing Suter would immediately make Miami better at their weakest 2025 position.

As for Hays, it's admittedly a bit of a tougher sell given the fact his primary position is outfielder, which is Miami's deepest position. Worse still, he hasn't spent any significant time playing right field since 2022, and that's the weakest link in Miami's outfield chain. So it's an awkward fit at first glance.

Happily, there are some easy fixes: platoon him, or just plug him in at designated hitter.

Hays is excellent against left-handed pitching, something Miami struggled with in 2025. Considering how much the Marlins have liked to platoon under Bendix, instead of being an awkward fit, it might just be a perfect one. His 2025 slash line versus lefties of .319/.400/.549 would look pretty good on a team that went .232/.300/.356 against left handed pitching last year.

Of course, they could also just put Hays at DH. Pete Alonso he is not, but he would be a lock for 15 to 20 home runs, and a big improvement on what Miami was getting from the bulk of their designated hitter options last year. Once the club gives up on Agustin Ramirez catching, that would change, but Hays is an upgrade over the "whoever wasn't playing first base that day" role played by Troy Johnston and Eric Wagaman.

Ultimately, both Suter and Hays would be upgrades over what the Miami Marlins had last season, and are proven veterans with playoff experience. Just the kind of players teams trying to win look to add.

If the Marlins are one of those teams, they should give these two former Reds a look.