Marlins exploring market for bench candidate

MIAMI — Roster spots are becoming scarce with the offseason moves the Marlins have already made, but the club still could use an experienced bat off the bench. The ideal candidate would be a right-handed hitter who can play first base.

Working in Miami’s favor is that the free-agent market still has several proven players available.

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“From a position-player standpoint, we’ll continue to monitor the market and see if there is anything left that we want to do,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said.

Already this offseason, the Marlins have signed third baseman Martin Prado, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, catcher A.J. Ellis, left-hander Jeff Locke and right-handers Edinson Volquez, Dustin McGowan, Junichi Tazawa and Brad Ziegler.

The Marlins say they are open to giving left-handed-hitting first baseman Justin Bour more opportunities against lefties. They’re also considering occasionally using catcher J.T. Realmuto at first base against tough lefties.

MLB.com explores five potential free-agent targets:

Chris Johnson: After batting .222 with five home runs and 24 RBIs for the Marlins in 2016, Johnson could be a possibility to return as a …

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