Two first basemen have emerged as Miami Marlins targets. What each would bring to team

With about a month remaining until spring training begins, the Miami Marlins are continuing to pursue options to improve their roster.

One area that needs reinforcements is quality depth at first base.

And the Marlins are seemingly approaching two options for the position in Yuli Gurriel and Luis Arraez.

The Marlins have had conversations with Gurriel, a free agent who spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Houston Astros, and have talked with the Minnesota Twins about a potential trade for Arraez.

Should Miami acquire either player, it will provide an upgrade to their roster at a position that needs an upgrade.

How would either player impact Miami’s roster?

Let’s explore.

Why the Miami Marlins are pursuing a first baseman

As the Marlins’ roster currently stands, the team only has one natural first baseman on its 40-man roster in Garrett Cooper.

General manager Kim Ng said last week the team’s first base depth was “probably not as strong as it could be.”

And that was hours before the team traded shortstop Miguel Rojas, their only other player outside of Cooper with extensive experience at first base, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Marlins’ internal options beyond Cooper to play first base, barring an acquisition, are catcher Nick Fortes (who hasn’t regularly played first base since his college days at Ole Miss) and outfielder Jerar Encarnacion (who has been playing first base in Winter ball). Troy Johnston, the club’s No. 21 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is their top first baseman prospect.

Yuli Gurriel and the free agent route

Gurriel, who turns 39 in June, is the top remaining first baseman on the free agent market. Should Miami sign him, he would be the third signing this offseason, joining infielder Jean Segura and right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto.

Gurriel’s edge over Arraez is his pedigree. He has played 801 career games over seven MLB seasons, all with the Astros. He was part of two World Series teams (2017 and 2022) and is a career .284 hitter with a .776 on-base-plus-slugging mark, 94 home runs, 435 RBI and 400 runs scored. He won the American League batting title and a Gold Glove Award in 2021.

He had a drop-off in 2022, posting a .242 batting average, .288 on-base percentage and .360 slugging slash line in 146 games — all three single-season lows among his five seasons he played at least 136 games.

However, Gurriel’s offensive profile fits the mold Miami has been leaning toward: Players who make steady contact and can get on base. Gurriel has a career strikeout rate of just 11.2 percent — well below the league average of 22.1 percent — and his batted ball profile, according to Statcast, mirrors the league average (42.3 percent ground balls, 25.6 percent line drives, 22.5 percent fly balls, 9.6 percent pop-ups).

Luis Arraez and the trade route

Going the trade route and pursuing Arraez would provide the Marlins a longer-term solution at first base but would come at a steeper price.

Arraez, who turns 26 in April, is under team control for three more seasons. His contract value for 2023 is set to be settled in arbitration after the Twins and Arraez did not agree on terms by Friday’s deadline. Arraez filed at $6.1 million, while the Twins filed at $5 million, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Arraez is coming off a season in which he won the AL batting title with a .316 average to go along with a .795 OPS, 49 RBI, 31 doubles, eight home runs and 88 runs scored over 144 games. For his career, Arraez has a .314 batting average with a .784 OPS, 77 doubles, 14 home runs, 132 RBI and 216 runs scored in 389 games over four seasons.

Offensively, Arraez is known for his knack to make contact more so than power, similar to Gurriel.

He has struck out in just 8.3 percent of his career plate appearances and, according to Statcast, has made contact on 93.3 percent of balls he swings at inside the strike zone (league average is 82 percent) and 85 percent of balls he swings at outside the strike zone (league average is 58.3 percent). He’s a left-handed hitter as well, which sets up a proper platoon situation with Cooper.

But what might it take to acquire him?

It starts with Pablo Lopez. The Twins are seeking controllable starting pitching and Lopez is the main name linked in this situation (and elsewhere in Marlins trade pursuits).

Lopez, who turns 27 in March and is under team control for two more seasons, is coming off a breakout 2022 season in which he made all 32 of his scheduled starts for the first time in his MLB career. He finished with a 3.75 ERA over 180 innings with 174 strikeouts against 53 walks, a .234 batting average against and a 1.17 walks and hits per inning pitched mark — the latter two marks both below his career averages (.242 average, 1.19 WHIP).

But it will likely take more than just Lopez to swing the deal.

The Athletic on Tuesday reported that the Twins told the Marlins it would not accept a one-for-one, Lopez-for-Arraez trade and the teams have discussed “multiple” trade permutations that include the Marlins adding to their side of the trade.

However, the Marlins “haven’t matched the Twins’ lofty price tag,” the outlet said, “and the sides haven’t spoken for several days.”