It looks like it’s going to be a long road for the Miami Marlins when it comes to building back up their beleaguered franchise. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of steps to take during the 2018 season.
Saying that the new Miami Marlins ownership is playing the long game would be putting it mildly.
An offseason full of sweeping changes has the Marlins projected to be looking up at just about every team in the league by season’s end. Popular opinion on the franchise’s fifth firesale is mixed. Some see the club following the successful blueprint of the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs. Others see this as just the latest in a long line of betrayals, and proof that any money or attention paid to the Miami Marlins is a waste of effort.
That being the case, no matter how long-term Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman might be thinking there is a lot riding on how this 2018 season plays out. There might not be a championship at stake, but which side of this Marlins divide feels vindicated come October will go a long way towards determining what kind of success the team will have going forward.
Consequently, the following are some benchmarks the Miami Marlins would do well to hit, and hit this year. Pull these feats off, and fans just might start buying back in. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it is fair to expect to see progress by season’s end. So far, everything the new management has done has only reminded most fans of Jeffrey Loria. Or worse, came off as even worse than some of Mr. Loria’s more notable moves.
Hitting at least a couple of these five milestones over the upcoming season would be a good barometer of what Miami Marlins fans can ultimately expect: business as usual, or an actual path to success.