Within 24 hours of Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) inking a deal with San Diego, another Canadian right-handed pitcher joined a team for the upcoming season. Port Hope, Ontario’s Cal Quantrill inked a one-year deal worth $3.5 million earlier this week, with an extra $500,000 possible in performance bonuses.

It was an up-and-down year for Quantrill in 2024, logging a 4.98 ERA and 1.52 WHIP across 29 starts with Colorado. The Coors Field effect can be blamed for some of those numbers, but he also led the league in walks with 69. The Marlins will be the six-foot-three pitcher’s fourth organization after initially getting drafted eighth overall in 2016 by San Diego.

The Canadian National Team member’s best year came in 2021 in Cleveland, where he posted 3.7 bWAR and a 2.89 ERA across 40 appearances. That was the last year where he split time starting and relieving, with 22 starts compared to 18 relief outings. He was particularly dominant as a relief pitcher that year (1.88 ERA in 28 2/3 innings), which made us wonder whether a competitive team may be interested in him as a bullpen arm this offseason.

Quantrill has already had the chance to speak with the Miami media, explaining what went into his decision to sign with the Marlins. Note that fellow Canadian catcher Liam Hicks is two lockers down from Quantrill’s.

The Marlins will likely be relying on Quantrill to start games for them in 2025, especially after trading away Jesus Luzardo and more recently placing Braxton Garrett on the 60-day IL to open the season. Sandy Alcantara will also likely be eased back in after making his way back from Tommy John surgery.

The one-year deal allows the 30-year-old to build back up his stock and earn a multi-year contract next off-season. Since the Marlins aren’t expected to be competitive, we could easily see Quantrill traded to a contending team at the trade deadline.