Camila Sosa
The Miami Marlins appear to have secured the first base position heading into this 2022 MLB campaign that is about to begin by signing Venezuelan Jesús Aguilar to a 1-year, $7.5 million contract.
Jesús Aguilar, who began his career in the MLB in 2013 with the Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Rangers), and who has spent time with other teams such as the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, will play a third consecutive season with the Florida team after arriving in 2020 from Tampa Bay. Since then, his numbers have been quite positive with the Marlins, as in the shortened 2020 season due to the pandemic the Venezuelan posted a .277/.352/.457 batting average, driving in a total of 34 runs and connecting on 8 homers in 51 games and 188 at-bats.
The best would be yet to come for Jesús Aguilar in 2021, as that year he had what is the second best season in his career after his 2018 campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers, which saw him earn a spot in that year’s All-Star Game. Last MLB season saw Jesus Aguilar post a .261/.329/.459 batting average, while driving in a total of 93 runs and connecting on 22 home runs — both records are the second-best in his MLB career in a calendar year — in a total of 131 games and 449 at-bats.
However, these numbers were of little use as the Marlins finished 2021 just one spot above the bottom of the American League East division standings with a 67-95 record, and this season also looks complicated for a Miami team that has barely qualified for the postseason once in the last 19 years.
Will Jesús Aguilar be Key this 2022 Season for the Marlins?
If Jesús Aguilar can keep up with or better the numbers he posted in 2021, then the Marlins may be able to exceed expectations for this season.
While the team made a major move in the offseason by acquiring 2021 World Series MVP Jorge Soler, predictions indicate that they could once again finish fourth in the National League East division, ahead of only last season’s runner-up, the Washington Nationals.
Despite this, it will surely be worth keeping an eye on what happens at Marlins Park throughout the campaign, with players in the Marlins’ ranks such as Peruvian Jesús Luzardo, who was acquired from the Oakland Athletics this offseason, and Venezuelan Pablo López expected to make a leap in quality this year with the team, and if so, they are not expected to stay long given the lack of competitiveness shown by Miami in recent years.
