The new Oakland Athletic is thankful for his time in Miami.
The trade news did not catch Starling Marte by surprise. Before hopping on his flight to California, he posted a goodbye message on his Instagram and Twitter accounts—in both English and Spanish—to tie a bow on his 11-month Marlins tenure:
I want to thank the fans, the owners of the @marlins and the Miami community for all the support received during my time in this team. Also, I want to thank my teammates, the coaching staff and everyone at the clubhouse.
New horizons open and I will continue to give my best wherever I go.
Thank you all!
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Quiero agradecer a los fanáticos, a los dueños de los Marlins y a la comunidad de Miami por todo el apoyo recibido durante mi estadía en este equipo. Además, quiero agradecer a mis compañeros de equipo, al cuerpo técnico y a todos en el clubhouse.
Nuevos horizontes de abren y yo seguiré dando lo mejor de mí donde quiera que vaya.
¡Gracias!
The Marlins scooped up Marte from the Diamondbacks at the 2020 trade deadline. From that point forward, he was the most valuable overall player on the team.
In 92 games with Miami, Marte slashed .286/.370/.440 for a 126 wRC+. He stole 27 bases with incredible efficiency and aged very gracefully defensively as their regular center fielder. His all-around contributions were valued by FanGraphs at 3.5 Wins Above Replacement. Even that doesn’t fully express his impact considering the Marlins’ lack of viable alternatives at that position.
Marte’s clutch performance was critical to helping the Marlins snap a 17-year postseason drought (only the third October berth in franchise history).
This midsummer departure has been inevitable for weeks. Although the Marlins reportedly made multiple contract extension offers to Marte, they didn’t come particularly close to meeting his asking price. That price should only increase this offseason once he hits free agency, so the likelihood of a reunion with the Fish is extremely low. Instead, their front office intends to acquire a controllable center fielder from another club, perhaps getting it done in the 48 hours leading up to the trade deadline.
Thank you for everything, Starling!
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