Miami Marlins star's future at his position is questionable

Peter Bendix made the right call not going after a certain player for the Miami Marlins. There are better players to target, though it's probably not going to happen at this point. The interesting question going forward is whether new young star SS Xavier Edwards will actually last at the position long-term. Is he really a SS long-term? Or is he better off switching positions?

Is Xavier Edwards a long-term answer at SS for the Miami Marlins?

There's no doubt that Xavier Edwards is a long-term piece for the Miami Marlins. He debuted in the 2023 season, with a .295/.329/.333 batting line, with 0 home runs and 3 RBI in 30 games and 78 AB. He also stole 5 bases. Last season, he batted an even better .328/.394/.423, with a home run and 26 RBI, in 70 games and 265 AB. He also stole an impressive 31 bases. He was worth 0.1 WAR in 2023 and 2.0 WAR in 2024.

It's obvious that Xavier is a good top of the lineup hitter and is a long-term asset. He's just 25 years old and isn't a free agent until after the 2029 season. The problem is not his offense, it's his defense. His dWAR was 0.0 in 2023 and -0.4 in 2024. He's been known as a pretty bad defensive SS, which implies that it would make sense for him to ultimately move to a different position at some point.

One such position switch could be to second base. A natural solution to this dilemma. That said, there's an elite defender in Otto Lopez at second base. It would be a shame to either bench Lopez or hurt the defense at second base. You can make an argument for Otto moving to SS and Xavier Edwards moving to second base. The defense at second base will decline, but the defense at SS should improve. Why not try something like that then? Doesn't it seem like an obvious solution to the problem? It certainly seems to look like it to me.

It looks like Xavier Edwards is the long-term lineup staple for the Miami Marlins, but his long-term defensive home is still in question.