Exploring Marlins shortstop options, with move being considered. And spring roster set

The Marlins are interested in adding a free agent, with shortstop the preference, as we reported in January.

On Monday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal added the “Marlins are mulling over a group that includes Tim Anderson, Amed Rosario, Adalberto Mondesi and Nick Ahmed.”

What to know on each of them:

▪ Anderson, 30, hit .245 (.286 on base) with a homer, 25 RBI and 13 steals in 15 attempts in 123 games for the White Sox last season.

He was an All Star in 2021 and 2022 but hit just .223 before the All Star break last season. When the year was over, he finished with the American League’s lowest OPS (.582), the lowest isolated power (.051) and hit the highest percentage of ground balls in the league (61.1 percent).

The White Sox declined their $14 million option on Anderson for 2024, instead opting to pay him a $1 million buyout.

The hope is he can recapture his high level bat-to-ball skills from earlier in his career.

He hit better than .300 each of the previous four seasons: an American League-leading .335 in 2019, and then .322, .309, .301.

▪ Rosario hit .256 (just .301 on base) with three homers and 18 RBI in 48 games for the Dodgers last season.

Los Angeles acquired him in late July from Cleveland, where he hit .265 (.306 on base) with three homers and 40 RBI in 94 games last season.

Rosario, 28, batted .283 with 71 RBI in 153 games for Cleveland in 2022. Spotrac.com puts his market value at $6.4 million, but he’ll likely need to settle for less.

▪ Ahmed, 33, hit .212 (.257 on base) in 72 games and 210 plate appearances for Arizona last season with two homers and 17 RBI. He hasn’t hit above .231 since batting .266 in the COVID shortened 2020 season.

He hit 19 homers for Arizona in 2019, just 15 combined since.

▪ Mondesi, 28, has flashed power (14 homers in 2018) but has never had a good on-base average (.280 career) and was injured most of the past two seasons.

He was batting .140 in 15 games when he tore the ACL in his left knee in May 2022.

Last January, the Royals traded Mondesí to Boston, but he missed the 2023 season because of recurring issues with that knee.

Another free agent name to monitor: Gio Urshela, who hit .299 (.329 on base) with two homers and 24 RBI in 62 games for the Angels. His season ended in June with a pelvis fracture. Urshela hit .285 with 13 homers and 64 RBI in 144 games for the Twins in 2022. He’s probably better at third base than shortstop, but a Berti/Urshela pairing would be decent.

Jon Berti, who hit .296 last season, would be the likely starter at shortstop if the Marlins don’t sign Anderson or Rosario or trade for a shortstop. Berti appeared in 64 games at shortstop, 41 games at third, 19 in the outfield and 15 at second base.

SPRING ROSTER SET

The Marlins announced their spring roster on Monday, and Troy Johnston, Jacob Berry, Griffin Conine, Jose Devers and Will Banfield were among prospects who aren’t on the 40-man roster who will attend camp as non-roster invitees.

Among others invited as a non-roster invitee: veteran outfielder Jonathan Davis, who hit .244 with two homers and 10 RBI in 34 games filling in for Jazz Chisholm last summer before sustaining a season-ending knee injury July 5. He initially opted for free agency on Nov. 3 before signing a minor league deal with the Marlins on Jan. 8.

▪ Since the end of last season, the Marlins have added six players who played in the majors last season.

Of those six, we wrote about former Tampa Bay infielder Vidal Brujan and pitcher Calvin Faucher and catcher Christian Bethancourt here, and infielder Trey Mancini here. A fifth player, 27-year-old infielder Tristan Gray, had five at bats and two hits for Tampa last season in his only big-league experience.

Here’s what to know about the sixth, right-hander Kaleb Ort, who was claimed off waivers by Seattle and is now on the 40-man roster:

Ort, 32, has a 6.27 ERA in 47 big-league appearances, all for Boston.

That includes two starts last season, when he allowed 36 base-runners in 23 innings and had a 6.26 ERA over seven appearances.

He has yielded 63 hits and 25 walks with 51 strikeouts in 51 ⅔ innings over parts of three seasons.

Per MLBtraderumors.com, “this is the second time he has been claimed off waivers since Boston’s season ended, with M’s claiming him in October and now the Marlins.

“The interest likely stems from Ort’s big strikeout numbers in the minor leagues. He has punched out 182 of the 571 batters he’s faced in Triple-A, a rate of 31.9%. He’s also given out walks at a 12.3% clip but it’s understandable that clubs would hope for a breakout with a bit more finesse.

“Ort still has an option year remaining, allowing the Marlins to utilize him as a depth piece for the year if he doesn’t earn his way into a major league role. He’s also still cheap, heaving yet to qualify for arbitration.”

The Marlins’ first spring training pitcher and catcher workout in Jupiter is Feb. 15 and the first full squad workout is Feb. 20.

The Marlins open spring training against the St. Louis Cardinals at 1 p.m. Feb. 24 in Jupiter.