Marlins finally admit defeat with one of the biggest FA misses in franchise history

The Miami Marlins are one of many small-market MLB teams. This means that they don't have the same resources to spend on payroll as other big-market teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Tampa Bay Rays have proven that small-market teams can win consistently, but a lot has to go right. The rare times that a team like the Marlins spends in free agency, they have to be right. Being wrong is more consequential for teams like this because they're likely going to be unwilling to spend big again until that money is off the books.

The Marlins hoped that signing Avisail Garcia to a four-year deal worth $53 million ahead of the 2022 season would work out in their favor, but they couldn't have been more wrong. After years of waiting, Miami finally admitted defeat by DFA'ing the veteran outfielder.

Marlins finally cut ties with one of the biggest busts in their franchise's history

ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report the shocking news. It wasn't shocking because of the player, but it was shocking because he still has over one year left on his deal. The Marlins are set to eat the remaining $24 million to watch him likely play against them. That's how bad it got.

The Marlins are a team that is seemingly always in need of offensive help, so they signed a player in Garcia who was coming off an excellent 2021 campaign. Playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Garcia slashed .262/.330/.490 with 29 home runs and 86 RBI. Yes, players on contract years often elevate their game, but nobody could've predicted Garcia going from putting up really strong numbers to being one of the worst players in the game.

In his 2.5 seasons with the Marlins, Garcia slashed .217/.260/.322 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI in 153 games. Injuries played a role, but this kind of dropoff is simply unprecedented. He had hit at least 18 home runs in each of the last four seasons (excluding 2020) before signing with the Marlins, and then combined to hit just 13 across parts of three seasons with Miami.

An argument could've been made that Garcia should've been cut after last season's disaster, but new President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix gave him one more chance to prove himself. Garcia struggled in his 18 MLB games, got injured, and then had just two hits in 19 at-bats in his rehab assignment before the Marlins finally cut ties.

While an argument could've been made that it should've been done earlier, the Marlins deserve some credit for admitting defeat sooner than they had to. They got rid of Garcia knowing full well that he could latch on elsewhere and wind up turning his career around. It simply wasn't working in Miami, so that's a risk worth taking.

As Peter Bendix continues to clean house, it'll be interesting to see how he chooses to spend his limited resources. Marlins fans can only hope it goes better than the Garcia experiment.