Two former Miami Marlins have found their new teams for 2024

The Miami Marlins have had several players move off the roster this offseason and two more have charted their courses. Former shortstop Joey Wendle has signed with the Mets and former utility man Garrett Hampson has signed with the Royals. Neither player was a good fit for the Marlins and both had a pretty lackluster season in 2023. 

2 former Marlins infielders sign elsewhere

The Royals fans have shown mixed responses on X as some fans commented, oh great another utility guy while another said don’t we already have like 4 or 5 of those? Hampson had a great end to his 2023 season but was inconsistent at best and we wish him well in his new chapter but the Marlins can’t count on him for the future. In 252 plate appearances Hampson hit 3 home runs and drove in 23 while sporting a .276 average which was greatly aided by his 2 home runs in the final month of the season. The Marlins have Jon Berti already as a utility guy and they really don’t need another on the roster, assuming they fill the shortstop void. Hampson signed a 1 year $2 million dollar deal.

Joey Wendle has signed with the Mets on a day when the Mets also sign free agent pitcher Luis Severino. The Wendle era in Miami was not a good one and 2023 was even worse than 2022. Wendle hit .212 this year with 2 home runs and 20 RBI with 7 stolen bases. Certainly the shortstop position has a lot of defense first guys but most of the good ones hit for average, Wendle this year didn’t produce at all. The Marlins won’t miss him either and Marlins fans are still waiting to hear his replacement. 

As a side note, and as we wrote about recently, Severino was going to be expensive and a gamble and the Marlins should avoid him. They did. He is expensive, signing a 1 year $13 million contract with the Mets, staying in New York next season just with different colors.  That is one potential pitcher off the market though so the Marlins will have to see what they can do with who is left either as a free agent or a trade candidate to replace Sandy Alcantara. 

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