Marlins Sign Anthony Bass

The Miami Marlins went out and signed Anthony Bass, former Toronto Blue Jays reliever on a 2-year deal with a club option for 2023. The Fish were in desperate need of a late-inning relief pitcher and Bass provided just that, as he led the Blue Jays with 7 saves in his 2020 campaign. 

Here are the main reasons there is a lot to like about this signing:

The Marlins continue to stabilize the bullpen without dishing out top prospects

Baseball America had 6 future or present Miami Marlins in the top 100 prospects throughout the MLB. With each passing day, Kim Ng and the front office shows more and more restraint to disrupt a flourishing farm system. This points towards the trust the Marlins have in what is to come from guys like Sixto Sanchez, Jazz Chisholm, and Trevor Rogers. The front office is effectively buying low-risk stocks that have a chance to boom without the additional risk of losing a bigger boom from younger guys.

Bass takes the pressure off of Yimi Garcia

Anthony Bass hasn’t been a closer throughout most of his career, but with 12 saves in the past two years, he can close games on back backs which alleviates some worries about potentially blown saves from overworking Yimi Garcia. In Bass’ past 3 seasons, he has put up solid 2.93, 3.56, and 3.51 ERAs respectively. He will provide a more stable option in the 7th-9th innings than what was available last season for the Marlins.

Another veteran for the younger Marlins pitchers to learn from

It is no secret that the Marlins’ young pitching talent is and will be lethal; however, the rotation and younger guys in the bullpen have little experience in a full season of baseball. Anthony Bass is a 9-year veteran. This could put him in a leadership role for the younger arms, much like we saw out of Brandon Kintzler last year. 

Overall

As the Marlins continue to put together a solid roster without spectacularly expensive (cough.. cough.. Mets), it will be interesting to see how well they can compete versus an objectively stacked NL East in a full 2021 season.