Marlins roster in flux and Peter Bendix is working hard to shape the Miami Marlins roster and minor leagues

The Miami Marlins are still a work in progress and Peter Bendix is busy making the roster and minor leagues fit his mold. Bendix has his work cut out for him with a bare minor league system and holes still on the big league roster. The Marlins added and lost players on February 13th  and their minor league system and Spring Training invitees have now changed. 

The Marlins gave a minor league contract to Yonny Chirinos, and offered him a Spring Training invitation. Bendix is very familiar with Chirinos as he was with the Rays from 2018 through most of 2023. Chirinos had a hot start to his career, posting a mid-3 ERA his first two seasons, averaging close to 100 innings a season. 

The Miami Marlins have made several moves this week to improve depth and the roster

He has since taken a dip in production, especially after posting a 9.27 ERA with the Braves over 22 innings. Prior to that he posted a 4.02 ERA which isn’t great but is an ok resume for a relief pitcher. He adds to the list of former Rays players Bendix has signed this offseason, which could prove to be fruitful if he can build up the farm system. 

The Marlins followed up that move with signing free agent Curt Casali (a catcher) to a minor league contract. The 35 year old catcher played for the Reds last season and was last on the big league roster depth chart. In only 80 at bats Casali hit .175. His best season came in 2019 with the Reds hitting .251 with 8 home runs and driving in 32. He will end up as a depth move and a catcher ready at the AAA level to jump up if needed for any reason. 

We also wrote about losing Jordan Groshans to a waiver claim by the Yankees. That was followed by another waiver claim by the Phillies of recently acquired Kaleb Ort. Ort could have been a quality piece for the Marlins but they now lose him and their AAA roster keeps shifting with many different waiver claims. There could still be more movement as the Marlins still need a DH and that will either come from a trade, free agent signing or a Spring Training standout. Either way, the position is open and will cause more waves when filled. We also now have talk of a potential trade with the Pirates. The final roster is still in flux fans so keep up to date on the latest.