An interesting bounce back candidate for the Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are busy playing spoiler as the season winds down. It's not as fun as what the division rivals are doing, but at least it's something. As we look towards the off-season, there might be a bat that The Fish could look into. I'm specifically talking about DH/LF Eloy Jimenez, who the Baltimore Orioles recently demoted.

Should the Miami Marlins pursue Eloy Jimenez?

It's pretty clear that Baltimore will not be bringing Eloy Jimenez back next season. There's a $16.5 million team option for next season that's about a lock to not be picked up. There's no chance that they will pick up that type of option on a player they just demoted to the Minor Leagues.

Eloy didn't have a good season to say the least. The former top prospect with the Chicago Cubs, has batted .238/.289/.336, with 6 home runs and 23 RBI in 98 games and 324 AB. Specifically with Baltimore, he batted .232/.270/.316 with a home run and 7 RBI in 33 games and 95 AB. That performance has been worth an abysmal -0.7 WAR for the season.

So then why should the Marlins be interested in him? He'll likely be available for only a few million dollars in the off-season for one. Another reason is that he does indeed have good power. He still has a 92.0 Exit Velocity for the season and a 91.7 mark for his career. The power is there and if he stays healthy, maybe he'll finally put it all together.

Eloy Jimenez had his best season back in 2019. In the "juiced ball" season, he batted .267/.315/.513, with 31 home runs and 79 RBI in 122 games and 468 AB. He never topped that season and he typically has terrible defense. He also keeps getting injured, which is why his surprising career high is the 122 games that he got into in 2019.

The Miami Marlins should be looking at reclamation projects in the off-season. Players that can potentially be of value for a small price. It may make sense to take a look at Eloy Jimenez.