Looking Back On The Miami Marlins Wild Card Roster From 2023

Looking Back On The Miami Marlins Wild Card Roster From 2023

The Marlins were a wildcard team just two years ago, but that roster from the series against the Phillies looks completely different now. You are Locked On Marlins, your daily podcast on the Miami Marlins, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked On Marlins. I’m your host, Jeremiah Gger. I’m a diehard Marlins fan and I’ve podcasted about the team for four seasons. Go hit me up on Twitter, Jeremiah Guyger 2. And thank you for making Locked on Marlins your first listen of the day. It’s part of the Locked On podcast network, which is your team every day. Make sure you’re subscribed to the YouTube channel. Leave a like, leave a comment. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the app today. And on today’s show, we’re going to take a look at the 2023 Marlins wildcard team. It was a short-lived postseason run. They ran into a powerhouse in the Philadelphia Phillies who quickly swept them in two games. But I want to take a look at the roster that the Marlins put out for that wildcard series and just look how different it is now. and also where are those players currently? Are they still on the Marlins? Where are they at in their career? So, let’s set the groundwork here by just recapping the the season for the fish in 2023 was completely unexpected. And the the term punching above your weight class can be correctly applied here because the Marlins weren’t supposed to be in the playoffs. If you look at all the the advanced stats, runs scored, all that, runs against, they were one of the worst postseason teams to ever make the field, statistically speaking. Now, I don’t care about any of that because my my philosophy is pretty simple. Once you make the dance, then if you get hot, anything goes. You can you can go on a legendary run and win a World Series. You just have to get into the postseason first. And that’s what the Diamondbacks did that season. The Diamondbacks, people may forget this, the Marlins finished ahead of them in the wild card standings. The Marlins were the fifth seed. The Dbacks were the six sixth seed. And the Dbacks ended up winning the National League pennant, beating those Phillies, and then falling short in their quest for a World Series trophy. But they still made the World Series. It was a phenomenal run for a team that never would have been in the field had it not been for the expanded playoff. So that’s another reason why I’m a huge proponent of this expanded playoff and the wild card being best out of three. It truly is anything can happen and the and the Dbacks showed that for the Marlins it was more of a a a quiet exit. The Marlins finished 84 and 78. They were facing the Phillies who were a 90- win team that season, 90 and 72. Of course, the Atlanta Braves had won the division that year. So, it was the Phillies who were were at home for a wildcard series, but they weren’t division champions. It really didn’t matter. They flexed their muscle against the Marlins, sweeping them in two games by a score of 4 to one and then the next game 7 to one. the Marlins roster when I looked back at it, it’s it’s almost hard to believe that that team made it that far if if I and that’s really putting it lightly just based off the fact like, hey, this this roster on paper now would easily be a hundred loss team in my opinion. It it was just weak. And the Philly showed like you’re you’re going to need you’re you’re gonna need stars. You need to build a roster better instead of just lucking your way into the dance. And ultimately that showed in 2024. And I’m not saying that the Marlins got in because of luck in 2023. I will never say that the the Marlins postseason didn’t mean anything, but when you have a lineup that was really headlined by Luis Aras and Jorge Solair and really not much else, it was going to be tough for the Marlins to make a run. So, let’s go through this lineup. Game one, it was the 4 to1 win for the Phillies. The Phillies scored a run in the third, two runs in the fourth, a run in the eighth. The Marlins tacked on one run in the seventh and that was it. RBI courtesy of Brian de la Cruz. So Luis Aras, Jorgees Solair, one two one-two punch right there. That was all season for the Fish. Those were the guys carrying this offense. Then you had Josh Bell who was a great mid-season acquisition along with Jake Berger who really propelled this team in the back half of the season. Then you had Jazz Chisum Jr. hitting cleanup. Jake Burgerer hitting fifth. Brian de la Cruz hitting sixth. Jesus Sanchez seventh. Birdie, John Birdie hitting eighth. Nick Forez hitting ninth. That was the first game’s lineup. Marlins were held to seven hits. Zack Wheeler was on the mound, went six and two/3, struck out eight. Jesus Lazardo towed the rubber for the fish. He went four innings, eight hits, three runs, five strikeouts. In game two, Braxton Garrett was the starting pitcher for the Marlins. Remember Sandy Alcantara, he he had been injured. He he had gotten hurt. This is right before the that he got Tommy John surgery, which he since returned and it’s been great. But that was a huge blow for the Marlins, losing Sandy Alcantra, shutting down Yuri Perez. So Jesus Lazardo and Braxton Garrett were the two starters for the Marwins in the wild card. The second game, the lineup was pretty much the same. Actually the exact same except the ninth hitter was Jacob Stallings instead of Nick Forez. Here’s what I find fascinating though, and we’re going to talk about this more later in the show. All these players have gone on to to be really I guess inconsistent is the word in terms of their major league career. Brian de la Cruz is in the minors. Jorge Solair had a rough season with the Halos. Luis Aras, I think it’s fair to say he’s taken a step back. Jazz is the exception. Jazz is a a great player, 3030 player who’s playing on the Yankees starting for them and they they just made it to the ALDS where the where where they’ll be facing the Blue Jays. Josh Bell, he’s going to be a free agent. He spent this season with the Nationals kind of underwhelming. He’s towards the back half of his career. Jake Berger had an up and down season with the Rangers. So there there’s a lot of players on this Marlins team who I think it’s fair to say aren’t core pieces of a competitive future for the Marlins and and that’s what the Marlins saw. Now here’s my argument though and and I’ll always say this no no matter what hindsight’s 2020 I get that. I totally get that. But after the 2023 season, I wanted to see the Marlins at least attempt to compete in 2024. And they didn’t. They didn’t try to patch any of the holes. They signed Tim Anderson hoping for a bounceback season. And we all know how that worked out. Not well. So for the Fish, this lineup, it was going to take a stroke of of of magic, just complete luck and and magic for this team to get hot in 2024 with the same pieces. And of course with the injuries that happened, losing Yuri, losing Sandy, it didn’t happen. And the Marlins embarked on their rebuild in 2024. So, in the next segment, I do want to go more in depth with these players and just kind of compare them where they’re where they are at their current stage in their career to the Marlins roster as currently constructed in 2025. Even though the 2023 team was better on paper and made the playoffs, there’s a ton of differences from the 2025 team to the 2023 team. 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Number one, if you take away Jake Burgerer and Josh Bell, there’s some glaring holes on on this 2023 team, which is why the Marlins and Kim went out and and got them at the deadline. They needed more offense and she traded with the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Socks, respectively. and Bell and Burger were great down the stretch because really for the Marlins that year the offense was carried by Luis Aras who had a career season and Jorge Solair. Luis Arias was hitting out of his mind. There were talks early in the year that hey this guy could legitimately make a run at hitting 400 and I think he finished 354 somewhere in that range. Jorge Solair had a 30 home run season and it it was great. Um, but the additions of Bell and Burger were huge for that team and and it’s something for the Marlins, those were the last additions the Marlins have made in at a trade deadline. They sold everybody a season ago and in 2025 they sold a couple of pieces but for the majority they stayed pat. So, it does go to show you that when a team is competitive and they and they feel like they can make a run at the postseason, there is value in buying at the trade deadline and trading some prospects even though your squad isn’t the strongest on paper and you’re getting lucky in terms of run differential, being aggressive, having a winner’s mentality. I will always have respect for those two moves. Luis Aras of course was traded the next season. He he was moved to the San Diego Padres’s and I think he’s taken a step back especially since that 2023 season. Araias is somebody who doesn’t doesn’t have a ton of value outside of his hit tool. And his hit tool is one of the best in baseball. He is the greatest contact hitter I’ve seen with my own two eyes really really since watching baseball just in terms of his ability to get base hits. I mean he’s he’s right up there with Ichiro in terms of just average. He’s a batting average guy and that season he at 354. 2024 he at 314 which is a 40oint drop off and then this season hit 292. still led the league in hits, but there there’s there’s some concerns with Luis Aas because he doesn’t hit for a ton of power. He doesn’t steal a ton of bases and he doesn’t play defense. So, the Marlins moved on from Arias who was their second baseman in 2024. And now playing second base for the Fish is Xavier Edwards. First, it was Otto Lopez who looked like a gold glove candidate. Otto moved to shortstock. X, who is playing shortstop, moved to second. And I feel pretty good about Xavier Edwards compared to Luis Aras if Arias continues this this downhill trajectory. And I hate to say it because I’m always going to be a Luis Ahas fan, but he has to hit at a very high clip in order to stay relevant. Xavier Edwards, though, is going to provide you a ton of value with his speed on the base pads and stealing bats. He stole 31 in 70 plus games a season ago. Took took a step back this year, but I’m expecting 2026 um for for him to be more efficient in the base stealing category. I would still say Arias is a better hitter, a better pure hitter than Edwards, but there’s not really much of a drop off if Xavier Edwards continues to hit the way he can a and avoid slumps. This guy can legitimately win a batting title in the future. Jorge Solair was the designated hitter for the Marlins and he had a great year in 2023 at 36 bombs, uh, 75 75 RBI’s, an OPS of 853. But you fast forward a couple years later in 82 games with the Angels hit just 215, 12 homers, and an OPS of 680. So, Jorge Solair, his career, I mean, it’s taken a a severe turn for turn for the worst. Solair is not the same player as he used to be. The Marlins didn’t want to to extend him or offer a qualifying offer after 2023. And now he’s he he finishes 2025 with the Angels. We’ll see what happens with him and his next steps, you know, in the in the future. Josh Bell is a veteran presence. Talked about him. He was great for the Fish. He was never the long-term answer though for the Marlins at first base, just given his age, the stage that he is in his career, but he still provides a team valu. He spent this season with the Nationals where he hit 239, hit 22 bombs, which tied his his uh 2023 season in the power department. 22 bombs, 63 ribbies, an OPS of 747. So, a quality first baseman. Nothing extremely flashy, but still a good player that is going to find a home. He’s an impending free agent. I mean, if you think about it, the Marlins with their first base situation, you could bring him back, but you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t. I I don’t think I’m just throwing that out there because Bell does have value and this is probably going to be clipped because that’s not a good take at all. The Marlins should not bring back Josh Bell. He he he’s not the future and he wasn’t the future after 2024 in which they they parted ways during the rebuild. Bell’s 33 years old. He’s he’s a veteran. He’s going to sign somewhere. He’s going to get at bats. Um, but he’s not somebody that necessarily moves the needle. Jazz was the best player um is the best player I would say remaining like this season that has continued to show progression, not taken steps backward. Jazz had a 3030 season for the Yankees. He’s someone that, you know, it he brings the excitement, he brings the flare. He he he’s he’s he can be a character and there’s a lot of people that don’t like him. I like Jazz. Always going to be a Jazz fan and he’s found a place in New York. He’s found a place and I think it’s a winwin trade for the Marlins if Augustine continues his positive development and takes strides forward next season, then you could consider it a win-win trade. But don’t get it twisted. The Yankees got a really good player. Even though the Marlins got Augustine and I’m a big Augustine fan, Jazz is still really good and he he’s learned how to hit lefties. This season he actually hit 248 against lefties, two 240 against right-handed pitching, which I think it, you know, reverse splits. That’s surprising because the majority of Jazz’s career, he was not a good hitter in Miami against lefties. Jake Burgerer went on to the Texas Rangers. Burgerer hit 236 this season, 16 bombs, 53 RBI’s and OPS of 687. Now for Burger there, he he only played in 103 games. There there was a time where he was actually optioned to AAA. He was struggling that bad. But Burgerer still is a valuable player. He he he has 30 plus home run potential and 30 home run power. that the Marlins needed in 2023, they needed in 2024. They’ve really needed the last decade since Stanton’s been gone is power. And Burger is going to provide that um for a franchise and Texas fell short of the of the postseason, but that’s where Burger is. Brian de la Cruz. Oh, Brian De La Cruz, one of my favorite Marlins. He got traded to the Pirates at the 2024 deadline and was terrible. Was absolutely terrible. He spent this season with a couple of organizations with the Braves AAA team with the Yankees. He finished the year with Scranton Wils Bear, the Rail Riders. He’s just 28 years old. He he’s not he’s not super old, but man, he his career has taken a downturn as well. 16 games with the Braves. The major the majority of his season was in the minors and he hit just 191. And you you go back a couple of years, he was a 19 homer guy. OPS 715, hit 257. He was a valuable piece of that wildcard team. Wrapping up the lineup here on I I’ll go quickly. Jesus Sanchez was finally traded to the Houston Astros. The trade rumors had been had been going on for years with Sanche. They moved on from him and that opened the door the door for Jacob Marcy. John Birdie Birdie w was always a fun player. He he was very good for the Marlins in 2023. Could play all over the diamond. But since then he went to the Yankees and then the Cubs this year where he played in 51 games and hit just 210. But in 133 games for the Marlins in 23 hit 294 and stole 16 bags OPS of 748. He was a 2.6 war player. So there were there was definite value with with birdie kind of the the the Swiss Army knife for the Marlins that season this year in 2025. You could look at Javier Senoha as being that guy. Nick Forez, Jacob Stallings, both those guys the Marlins have moved on from. Nick Vortez stuck around through 2024, half of 2025 before he was shipped off to Tampa Bay. Jacob Stallings, it it just never worked out with the Marlins. When they traded for him from the Pirates, it was expected that the offense from the catching position would get better because he was actually he was okay in Pittsburgh. Nothing crazy, but an OPS for three years straight of over 700. and things just took a complete ju just it just went to an absolute disaster at in Miami for Stallings. Um both seasons with the fish an OPS of under 600, a negative war player. He went to the Rockies for a couple of years or actually a year and a half because he spent time this season between the Rockies and the Orioles and it didn’t really go well. on 42 games he hit just 134. So I have a hard time envisioning Stallings staying in the league much longer if he just can’t hit at this badly. It’s it’s really really bad. Garrett Garrett Hamson uh Julie Guriel, they pinch hit in in this series for the fish. They went on to both play for the Kansas City Royals in 2024 who made the playoffs and they got some postseason at bats. Guriel, um, aging veteran Garrett Hampson, he he journeyman player. He last finished up 2025 with the Cardinals, and they released him midway through September. So, that’s the lineup for the Fish. Let’s take a look at who pitched in this series, how they did, and where they are right now. That’s coming up right after this. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. You pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. FanDuel gives you so many ways to play. You can build parlays, try player props, and even follow the live lines during games. Yesterday, my bet hit. I had Puka Nakua anytime touchdown. Christian McCaffrey touchdown. Niners to Niners with the points. And then I had there was one more. Oh, it’s Christian McCaffrey 40 or more receiving yards. So fourleg parlay. It hit. Glad glad to glad to win one. It’s nice to finally win one as they say. So what are you waiting for? Get to fanduel.com. Download the FanDuel app today and get started. Remember that’s fanduel.com. And if you win your first $5 bet, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets. I appreciate all the locked on Marlins everyday listeners making this part of your daily routine. If you’re new to the show, hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss any future episodes. Put that notification bell on. Jesus Lazardo. So, he was the game one starter for the Fish in the Wildard against the Phillies. And it’s ironic because you fast forward a year, he gets traded to the Phillies. Gets traded to the Phillies and he’ll be in the postseason this year. The Phillies trying desperately to get a ring because I mean the the the time is running out for the Phillies to to really capitalize on their core. They have an aging core. Trey Turner, Bryce Harper, they’re without Zack Wheeler who’s done for the years. So, Phillies Dodgers is going to be a great NLD NLDDS matchup. Jesus Lazardo will be a part of the action there. AJ Puck got traded to the Diamondbacks in 2024 at the deadline for Davis and De Los Santos. Puck and underwent Tommy John surgery at the start of this season. So unfortunate that he couldn’t stay healthy, but Puck pitched in this series. George Soraniano is the only pitcher in from game one to to pitch in 2025 for the Marlins. George Soraniano somehow is still on the roster. I anticipate though that the Marlins are going to move on from him this off season. And I just I don’t see a scenario in which you can continue to throw him and it expect positive results. It it never really made sense the any time he pitched this season that he he he’s still on the roster. Why is he a big leager? But Soraniano pitched and he actually pitched a scoreless inning, ironically. so he can tell his kids and his grandkids one day, “Hey, I pitched in the postseason and I pitched a scoreless inning against the Phils. Struck out one, no hits, no runs.” Oscar Brazzob also pitched a scoreless inning in game one. Struck out a couple. He got traded to the Mets. He was pitching a lot um for them. He can pitch out of long relief. Someone that, you know, I it didn’t make a ton of sense to move. I felt like given the control he had um and he he’s actually been pretty solid. Brazon has for his Mets tenure a 3.57 erra in 2025 pitched in 52 games 63 innings. So that was Oscar Brazon. You also had Tanner or not Tanner Scott rather it was Stephen Ochre. So Steven Ochre who’s on the Astros, the Astros missed the postseason. He had a good 2025, 3.01 erra and struck out 84 in 71 and two/3 innings. So he was a workhorse. Pitched almost 70 games for the Astros. Another part of that Marlins postseason team. Moving on to game two. Braxton Garrett after 2023 had an inconsistent 2024. Dealt with injuries. eventually landed on the season ending IIL. Went to underwent Tommy John surgery, but he’ll be healthy. He’ll be ready to go in 2026. I’m very excited for his return. Didn’t have a good start in the wild card, though. This was where the Phillies just essentially put the nail in the coffin. They blew out the fish seven to one. He went three innings, three hits, two runs, struck out five before Skip Schumacher went to his bullpen. Then you had David Robertson. Robertson gave up a couple of runs in two innings. He was not the deadline acquisition that the Marlins needed. They thought they were getting, you know, a savvy veteran who was going to pitch well for them down the stretch and it just was a disaster. There’s something about bullpen pieces being acquired at the trade deadline that just it never works out for the Marlins. it feels like after he was acquired from the Mets, he had an ERA of five. So, not the guy they were expecting. And also, ironically, he’s gone back to the Phillies where he pitched in 20 games for them this year and has a chance to earn a ring. Let’s see here. You also had after Robertson. So, Robertson went a couple of innings, then you had Andrew Nardy. Nardy gave up, of course, the the big grand slam to Bryson. I don’t like that song. AO a gives me PTSD just thinking about it. It gets me riled up. Not a fun moment being a Marlins fan. Andrew Nardy is with the organization, but was injured all season. Didn’t pitch a single inning in 2025. JT Charu and Tanner Scott wrap it up. Charu was with the Rangers. Um, signed with them with a minor league deal. Uh, he was traded in 2024 to Seattle and then in 2025 he didn’t pitch in the major leagues, but I believe I’m going to make sure right here. I believe he’s still in baseball in the Rangers organization. went from the Marlins to to the Mariners in 2024 and now in 2025 he did pitch five games in Triple A. So with the with the Rangers organization but not in Major League Baseball kind of like Brian de la Cruz. Tanner Scott signed that huge deal after last offseason with the Dodgers after being traded from the Marlins to the Padres’s. And that that was it. That those were all the pitchers the Marlins used in their most recent playoff playoff series. As you can see, a huge difference. Huge difference from where the Marlins are now, and I’ve been doing the 40man roster breakdown to where they were in 2023, and the decline that some of these players had really is stunning. It It really is. Um, last thoughts about this playoff team. It was super fun for the Marlins to get into the playoffs. I I truly believe they needed to add to to be competitive again in 2024 and they chose not to and the rest is history. We’re focused on the future now. That’s the recap of the players and where they are now, what they’ve where they are in in their baseball journey. Um feels like ages ago. A lot of names there you the casual Marlins fan who just started watching in 2025 would not recognize and that was just two seasons ago. We’re going to wrap it up right here. I appreciate you guys for tuning in. As always, stay safe, stay locked on, and let’s go fish.

The Marlins last made the playoffs in 2023, where they got swept in the Wild Card Series by the Phillies. In just two years’ time, the roster has seen a complete overhaul. Where are these former Marlins now?

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