Marlins make decision on Jazz Chisholm amid search for SS help

Joey Wendle and Garrett Hampson have already signed with other teams, as the free-agent departures left the Marlins further thinned out at a shortstop position that was already something of a weak link.  President of baseball operations Peter Bendix is looking to address the position this winter, telling MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that “I’d like to increase the number of options that we have who can play shortstop.”

Utilityman Jon Berti is the top choice at the moment, as manager Skip Schumaker told the media.  Jacob Amaya, Xavier Edwards and the recently acquired Vidal Brujan provide further depth.  Brujan and Edwards are former top-100 prospects looking for a big league breakout, while Amaya is a defensive standout acquired from the Dodgers in the Miguel Rojas trade last offseason. It makes for an interesting mix.

Bendix added “I think we have a few people on the roster, off the roster, who are pretty good options, but nobody who’s the clear, ’This is our everyday shortstop.’  So we’d love to add that, and really just adding long-term value to the organization — whether that is players at the Major League level with control, whether that is prospects.  Ideally, it’s both.  It’s supplementing the 2024 club, just building on what’s a competitive team already, but also keeping that eye on the future.”

Finding a long-term shortstop answer is obviously easier said than done, and landing such a player would require a significant return on Miami’s part.  For instance, the Fish have continued to get lots of interest in their starting pitching, yet considering how injuries and other trades have cut down on their rotation depth over the last two years, it remains to be seen if Bendix will be open to trading more arms when the Marlins are no longer dealing with a surplus.  Bendix was somewhat noncommittal about the idea of moving the team’s own pitchers, and even implied that Miami could look to add hurlers due to the basic credo of “you always need more pitching.”

In terms of other in-house shortstop candidates, it doesn’t appear as though Miami will be turning to its former shortstop.  Asked whether or not Jazz Chisholm Jr. might be moved back to shortstop, Schumaker said, “I don’t see that happening yet.  Jazz really took off kind of the second part of the season in the outfield as our center fielder, so I don’t anticipate that happening just yet.”

Since Chisholm had another injury-shortened season, the first priority is just to get him healthy as he recovers from an October turf toe surgery.  Between his toe problems and an oblique strain, Chisholm was limited to 97 games in 2023, extending his unfortunate streak to three consecutive injury-plagued years.

Chisholm hasn’t played any shortstop since the 2021 season, as he played second base in 2022 before being shifted to the outfield last winter.  The position change was made to both accommodate Luis Arraez as the new everyday second baseman, and also to see if Chisholm could be an answer to the Marlins’ longstanding need in center field.  Considering both his injuries and the fact that it was the first time Chisholm had ever played as an outfielder in his pro career, the results were somewhat respectable — a +4 in Outs Above Average, though other public defensive metrics (a -6.6 UZR/150 and -9 Defensive Runs Saved) weren’t impressed.

As Schumaker noted, Chisholm naturally looked more comfortable with the more experience he gained at the position, so it makes sense that Miami wouldn’t want to switch his position yet again when he might still be something of an untapped resource as a center fielder.  There’s also the fact that moving Chisholm would again create an outfield vacancy for the Marlins to address, and adding something of a supplementary shortstop alongside Berdi and company is probably an easier task than landing a new regular center fielder.