“Roki Sasaki who?”; “Bringing the payroll to $20 million” - MLB fans react as Marlins sign Cal Quantrill to 1-year deal

It has been a quiet offseason so far for the Miami Marlins with the team's acquisition of Matt Mervis from the Chicago Cubs arguably being their biggest addition. Well, fans can rejoice as the club has finally made a notable free agent signing this offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran pitcher Cal Quantrill.

The 30-year-old Canadian reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal to join the Miami Marlins, who have been in desperate need of additional pitching depth. Earlier this offseason, the club opted to trade veteran Jesus Luzardo to the Philadelphia Phillies for a pair of prospects, as well as losing Braxton Garrett to season-ending UCL surgery.

Quantrill is coming off a difficult season with the Colorado Rockies, posting a 4.98 ERA and a 1.517 WHIP over 148.1 innings of work. Despite his struggles, he has been an effective pitcher at the MLB level and should be able to provide Miami with some quality innings. That being said, following the signing, fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the moves, while also taking shots at the team.

"Bringing the payroll to 20 million" - One fan posted online.

"The Marlins signed a player?!?! WTF SOUND THE ALARM!" - Another fan shared.

"They actually did something?" - One more added.

Given the state of the starting pitchers remaining in free agency, the fact that it took this long for Cal Quantrill to sign with a team is a bit surprising. Even though he struggled last season, he has shown flashes of brilliance at times in his career. While the signing could be a low-risk, high-reward move, it is not the type of signing that has many fans excited as Spring Training approaches.

"Roki Sasaki who?" - One fan posted.

"Harrison Bader owns this guy" - Another fan shared on social media.

"This is GAME CHANGING" - One more added.

Marlins president Peter Bendix believes that Cal Quantrill's abillity to pitch deep help their young rotation

After reaching the postseason in 2023, Miami has taken a significant step back, focusing on developing and acquiring young talent. This is part of the reason why the addition of Cal Quantrill could be important for the team. The club has a number of young arms such as Eury Perez and Max Meyer who could benefit from an innnings eater like Quantrill in the clubhouse.

"He can throw 180 innings in a season. That's a rare skill, it's hard to find, especially these days, and that's something that's going to be really helpful to us," Bendix told reporters.

An affordable veteran signing such as Cal Quantrill can not only help the Marlins in terms of eating innings and providing stability to the rotation, he could also be a valuable trade asset by the time the deadline come around this summer. Quantrill could be an ideal trade chip for a rebuilding Marlins team if they are outside of postseason contention.