Miami Marlins avoid arbitration with Brian Anderson, give third baseman sizable pay raise
The Miami Marlins avoided arbitration with third baseman Brian Anderson on Friday, with the sides agreeing to a $3.8 million deal for the 2021 season.
That puts him near the higher end of MLB Trade Rumors’ projections, which had estimated Anderson to make between $2.2 million and $4.2 million for the 2021 season.
It’s a noticeable pay raise for Anderson in his first year of arbitration. He’s under team control through 2023, and while a long-term extension isn’t out of the question, Marlins general manager Kim Ng made it clear it likely won’t happen this season.
“I would say I personally would like to see how this year goes before we ventured down that road,” Ng said on Dec. 3, “just so I have a better understanding of who he is as a player, and I just get a better sense of the situation.”
Anderson is the Marlins’ top homegrown player and has put together three solid seasons as he continues to prove he should be their long-term third baseman. Anderson is a career .266 hitter with 42 home runs and 177 RBI.
In the shortened 2020 season, Anderson led the Marlins in home runs (11) and RBI (38) while hitting .255 in 59 regular-season games and was a Gold Glove Award finalist at third base.
The Marlins have also agreed to a one-year deals with their other four arbitration-eligible players Reliever Yimi Garcia is set to make $1.9 million. Catcher Jorge Alfaro will make $2.05 million. Relievers Richard Bleier ($1.425 million) and Adam Cimber ($925,000) round out the group.
Garcia is the Marlins’ top late-inning reliever currently on the roster. The righty posted a 0.60 ERA over 15 innings in the regular season with 19 strikeouts against five walks. He could contend for the Marlins’ closer position in 2021.
Alfaro, 27, has hit .256 with 21 home runs and 73 RBI during his two seasons with the Marlins. He needs to cut down on his strikeout rate (33.6 percent over the last two years) and get better behind the plate to stay around long-term, but the Marlins’ current catching situation predicates keeping Alfaro around. Chad Wallach is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster with significant big-league experience although the team did sign Sandy Leon to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. Their top catching prospect, Will Banfield, hasn’t played above Class A in the minor leagues.
Bleier, 33, was one of the few early-season pickups following Miami’s COVID-19 outbreak who stuck on the roster all season. The 33-year-old South Florida native and left-handed pitcher had a 2.16 ERA through 16 2/3 innings and was primarily used to get out of innings with runners on base.
Cimber, the 30-year-old sidearm thrower acquired in December from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations, has made 152 career appearances over three MLB seasons and has a 3.89 ERA with 104 strikeouts against 38 walks in 136 1/3 innings of work.
