Miami Marlins ownership has deservedly taken flak for their cheapness. No MLB team is investing less in player payroll this season. To be fair, there historically has been a weak correlation between the Marlins’ payroll and on-field success. Particularly since Bruce Sherman took over as principal owner, his baseball decision-makers have repeatedly whiffed in their attempts to supplement the roster via major league free agent signings, with those veterans often performing worse than in-house alternatives.

For $3.5 million, Cal Quantrill has been usable. That’s enough to clear the extremely low bar set by his predecessors.

First and foremost, the Marlins were counting on Quantrill to be durable—that became even more important after Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers suffered spring training injuries. His availability has been immaculate, making 19 straight starts without injuries or other interruptions to his throwing schedule. The team has won more of his starts (11) than anybody else’s this season.

Following Saturday’s scoreless outing, Quantrill has posted a 5.24 ERA, 4.23 FIP and .281 BAA in 87 ⅔ innings pitched. He’s been underwhelming overall from a run prevention standpoint, though his deepest struggles were early in the season; in 13 starts since the beginning of May, his ERA is 3.98.

57739b3b-faac3dcb-2abecdd4-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4

Quantrill was inexpensive to sign in the first place because his control deteriorated with the Colorado Rockies in 2024, ranking in the 19th percentile among MLB pitchers in walk rate. The veteran right-hander has bounced back to the 77th percentile in that category.

Quantrill still has obvious limitations. His effectiveness plummets when facing a lineup for the third time and he’s getting hit hard by same-handed batters. However, looking back at other free agent pitchers who signed for comparable money, the Fish have gotten solid bang for their buck.

As a refresher, Tim Anderson ($5 million guaranteed) was the lone major league FA signing made by Miami during the 2023-24 offseason. He was arguably the worst player in the league prior to getting released midway through the summer. The year before that, the Marlins made a stunning run to the postseason despite the regretful deals bestowed upon Johnny Cueto ($8.5 million) and Jean Segura ($17 million). Cueto was buried on the bench by the time October arrived, while Segura departed in a salary dump long before that.

johnny cueto shocked face sugar kings.gif

When’s the last time that the Marlins were truly content with one of their free agent acquisitions? Maybe Jorge Soler? Expectations were much higher for the reigning World Series MVP, hence the three-year, $36 million contract terms. He missed half of the 2022 campaign due to injury, then rebounded to All-Star status in 2023 while swatting 36 home runs. He was productive enough to opt out of the deal’s final season and get paid even more by the San Francisco Giants. 

Quantrill has more in common with Adam Duvall and Anthony Bass, both of whom received $5 million guarantees entering the 2021 season. Duvall and Bass were later traded in deadline deals when it turned out that the Marlins weren’t ready to contend themselves.

Quantrill is peaking at the perfect time as the 2025 deadline looms next week. If the Marlins are able to extract at least a 40-grade prospect in exchange for him, that would be a satisfactory outcome.