Marlins face decisions on three outfielders. A breakout prospect and personnel notes

As the Marlins try to stay above .500 and remain in wild card contention, decisions loom on three outfielders in the coming months:

▪ Jorge Soler: He’s off to a very good start (.257, 5 homers, 10 RBI in 84 plate appearances), and if that continues, he likely will opt out of the final year of his Marlins contract, which would pay him $9 million in 2024.

If Soler continues to hit and the Marlins are on the fringes of wild card contention at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, they will have a tough decision to make: Do they keep Soler and try to make a run to get to the playoffs or do they trade Soler with the expectation that he would leave in free agency?

▪ Avisail Garcia: His .155 average entering Tuesday was second worst among all big league outfielders with at least 58 at-bats. (Only Arizona’s Jake McCarthy is lower at .143). His on-base percentage is worst at .197.

Garcia’s .276 slugging percentage is fourth worst among outfielders with as many at-bats.

For his Marlins career, Garcia has hit .214, with 10 homers and 40 RBI in 116 games, with 19 walks, 128 strikeouts and a .256 on-base average.

The Marlins have given no thought to releasing him; he’s owed $12 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025. He has a $12 million team option in 2026, and the Marlins must pay him $5 million if they don’t exercise that option.

But they have considered benching him if he doesn’t improve.

There have been recent signs of life, including a home run Sunday in Cleveland. Manager Skip Schumaker said Garcia recently made an adjustment at the plate, making his stance a little wider so he can be “a little more grounded and stronger” with his swing.

Last offseason, the Marlins and Braves briefly discussed a trade involving Garcia and Marcell Ozuna, who is owed $18 million this season and next season. The Braves must pay him a $1 million buyout in 2025 if they bypass his $16 million option.

But those conversations have not been revived.

Ozuna is off to a dreadful 4 for 55 start (.073) after hitting .226, with 23 homers and 56 RBI in 124 games last season.

▪ Jesus Sanchez: The Marlins kept him on their 26-man roster because 1). he had a good spring; 2). he gave the team a left-handed bat off the bench, something it would have otherwise lacked and 3). he’s out of minor-league options.

But Sanchez is hitting just .143 (4 for 28), with six walks. The Marlins would consider trading him or designating him for assignment if he doesn’t start hitting.

The feedback on Sanchez is that there are too many holes in his swing and he has been late on fastballs this year, unlike previous stretches when he flashed considerable potential.

No decision on Sanchez will be made until Joey Wendle comes off the injured list. Wendle would give the Marlins another left-handed pinch-hitter in games he doesn’t start. Schumaker likes to pinch hit, and the Marlins don’t want to leave themselves without a left-handed hitter on the bench.

If the Marlins make a move in their outfield, Peyton Burdick and Jake Mangum would be the most likely options to be promoted from Triple A.

Mangum, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Mets, isn’t on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, so a spot would need to be created if he’s promoted to the big-league team. A left-handed hitter, Mangum is batting .367 (18 for 49) at Jacksonville, after hitting .333 in 138 at-bats at Triple A Syracuse last season.

Mangum, 27, has hit .289 in four minor-league seasons with limited power (14 homers, 105 RBI in 223 games).

Mangum — who left Mississippi State with the fourth-most hits in NCAA history — was acquired by the Marlins as the player to be named later in the December trade that sent Elieser Hernandez and Jeff Brigham to the Mets.

With a strong start at Triple A, Burdick has raised his status internally.

Burdick always has hit for power (57 homers in 301 minor-league games, including eight in 19 this season). But he’s also hitting for average now: .321, with a .384 on base average. He has eight RBI in those 19 games.

“He made a consistent effort to ensure his bat-to-ball [ability] was improving,” said Hector Crespo, the Marlins’ director of minor-league operations. “His approach has been better. Off-speed pitches in the zone, he’s able to drive to right center more consistently. He’s staying on those pitches.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Though the Minnesota Twins gave Pablo Lopez a four-year, $73.5 million extension, the Marlins haven’t had extension talks with Luis Arraez, who was acquired in the Lopez deal.

But here’s the difference: Lopez was due to be a free agent after 2024, while Arraez is under Marlins control through 2025.

We hear the Twins liked Marlins prospect Yiddi Cappe, but never demanded him and accepted Jose Salas instead, along with outfield prospect Byron Chourio.

The 20-year-old Cappe — who can play second, third and shortstop — is off to a strong start (.315, 2 homers, 11 RBI) in 15 games at High A Beloit.

▪ The Marlins have no interest in Madison Bumgarner, who was recently designated for assignment by Arizona. The four-time All-Star yielded 19 earned runs in 16 ⅔ innings through four starts for the Diamondbacks this season after finishing with a 4.88 ERA in 30 starts for them last season.

The Marlins are hopeful that Trevor Rogers and Johnny Cueto — who are both out with biceps injuries — are back at some point in May and like some of their internal options better than Bumgarner.

▪ Only Houston’s Phil Maton and Atlanta’s Dylan Lee have pitched more innings without giving up a run than Marlins right-handed Dylan Floro, who has allowed two hits in 10 ⅓ scoreless innings through nine appearances.

The Marlins believe Floro’s throwing arm wasn’t fully prepared for spring training in 2022, but he was ready when he reported this year.

The April work of Floro and A.J. Puk — who has four saves and allowed one run in nine innings — stacks up favorably with most any bullpen combo in baseball.

“You don’t see this look a lot: tall lefties,” the 6-7 Puk said. “There are only a handful of us.”

Catcher Jacob Stallings said “it’s sometimes hard for big-bodied guys” to maintain their mechanics, but Puk “gets incredible extension and his stuff is excellent.”

▪ Left-hander Patrick Monteverde, the Marlins’ eighth-round pick in 2021, has been the story of the Marlins’ farm system in the early stages.

Monteverde, who pitched at Seton Hall and Texas Tech, has relinquished just five hits and one run in 19 innings through three starts, with 29 strikeouts.

“You would be hard-pressed not to say that he has emerged [as a good prospect],” Crespo said. “Ultimate competitive guy. He doesn’t have the arsenal of a Eury Perez or Dax Fulton or Jake Eder. But he knows his strengths, can change speeds, has a unique four-pitch mix, never throwing any pitch than three times [in an at-bat]. Holds runners well. What separates him is his demeanor.”

Monteverde hits 91, “if not 93” on his fastball, Crespo said. His best pitch? “His slider or changeup. I would lean toward his slider.”

Crespo said he sees similarities between Monteverde and lefty Dallas Keuchel, the two-time All Star.

▪ Eder, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, has been sidelined since spring training with a foot injury but is projected to be ready to pitch in games in June.

“He got out of boot [last week],” Crespo said. “He will get back on a throwing progression. Looking like he can get back in mid to late June. It was a freak accident off the field; he had dealt with foot issues and stepped the wrong way and tweaked something during spring training.”

Eder, the Marlins’ 2020 fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt, was dynamic in his one minor-league season, allowing a 1.77 ERA in 15 starts at Double A Pensacola, with 43 hits allowed and 99 strikeouts in 77 ⅓ innings.

▪ Besides Eder, Sixto Sanchez and Max Meyer (Tommy John surgery), right-hander Zach McCambley remains the other promising Marlins pitching prospect sidelined by injury.

McCambley, the Marlins’ third-round pick out of Coastal Carolina in 2021, had elbow soreness in spring training and has been sidelined since. “There’s nothing structurally wrong,” Crespo said. “He will be built up, should be back mid to late June.”

McCambley had a 5.65 ERA in 19 starts at Pensacola last season but struck out 101 in 94 innings.

▪ The Jason Taylor Foundation will honor Marlins special assistant and former outfielder Jeff Conine at 6 p.m. on May 13 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. The Marlins are the presenting partner of the event.

Taylor and his charitable foundation annually honor three people “that inspire Jason to continue to do the work he does in the community.” To buy tickets, visit jasontaylorcommunityhof.org.

Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish hosts Newswire from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays on Sportsgrid. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigMish. Follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz