Miami Marlins: Clay Buchholz
Derek Jeter and his corporate raider friends spent just $75 million on their distressed asset’s roster last season and were rewarded with a 105-loss season. The Marlins drew just 10,000 fans per night, and that’s generous. At very few points in the season were there actually more than 10,00 people in the stadium on a given night.
At this point, the only thing to do for the league and however many faithful fans who have not entirely tuned out the team is hope this gutting of the roster can somehow result in the formation of a core that rivals the Astros or Cubs. There’s no other way this ends well in Miami, where many citizens are angry over their responsibility for footing the bill for Jeffrey Loria’s monstrosity of a stadium.
The Marlins won’t spend money in free agency this winter if they don’t have to, but they have only $34 million guaranteed to six players for next season. They’ll have to do something this winter to be able to field a full 25-man roster. Miami will look for a few cheap veterans who might prove to be valuable on the trade market by the middle of the year.
Winning is not a point of emphasis for the Marlins, so why not field the cheapest roster possible and buy a little upside?
Miami tried that approach last year when they brought in Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker and Sergio Romo on one-year deals. The Marlins can effectively serve as the landing spot for veteran players who don’t necessarily care about playing for a winner and just need a job. This winter’s candidate, assuming he wants another season, is 35-year-old Clay Buchholz. The right-hander was 7-2 with a 2.01 ERA in 16 starts as recently as 2018.