The rest of the NL East has dominated free agency this offseason- the Miami Marlins now need to make a minor splash heading into 2021.
Last season, the Miami Marlins finished second in the NL East, made the playoffs, and won a playoff series.
Yet despite that, the most optimistic projection for the Marlins in 2021 is a fourth place finish, with most analysts penciling them in for a losing record and return to last place. What gives?
Well, part of it is certainly a “prove it” mentality. A belief that the 2020 Marlins could have been the short season’s biggest aberration, and the full marathon of a 162-game season will prove true what was patently clear on paper going into last season:
That the Miami Marlins are the least talented team in the NL East.
Again, that was already the case in 2020. This offseason has seen every NL East club make a splash in either free agency, the trade market, or both. Every NL East club…except for Miami. Sure, the J.T. Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna signings can be framed as keeping existing talent in house rather than adding on. However, that feels like splitting hairs, denying the reality that baseball’s toughest division has gotten even tougher to navigate. With the Marlins doing nothing to keep up.
Which feels like a poor reward for fans of a franchise that have been searching for hope for so long, or the players that overcame so much to finally deliver some of that hope last season.
Without question, the rebuild is very much ongoing for Miami. Even going out and acquiring Trevor Bauer wasn’t going to change the fact the Los Angeles Dodgers will be repeating as World Series champions in 2021. Bauer, or any one of the elite talents to have changed teams or ink new deals this offseason. Yet, not even making a mid-tier move? Why not Brad Hand? Why not Charlie Morton? Or why not pounce on the fact that every players’ trade value is apparently down relative to past seasons, and take advantage of the fact that Miami’s payroll commitments are dramatically less than every other contender?
To be fair, the Marlins did exercise Starling Marte‘s option. New talent to date, though? All that has happened is the replacing of most of last year’s no-name bullpen with a new, slightly more proven no-name bullpen. Yes, if you read baseball blogs regularly, you’ve probably heard of Ross Detwiler. Yes, if you’re a hard core fantasy baseballer, you’ve heard of Anthony Bass– and anyone else who ever earned an MLB save.
Do those moves really move the needle though? No, they do not.
No, the Miami Marlins need to add someone the average fan has heard of, and someone that could be worth a few extra wins in 2021. Banking entirely on internal growth is not enough. Take a swing at Adam Duvall. Go after Trevor Rosenthal. See how many fans turn out, as they did with Ichiro, just to watch Yadier Molina play baseball. That it will pay dividends in the clubhouse goes without saying. It’s also smart business though, as that kind of move is exactly the kind of thing that will get fans to pay admission…in a season where there is already a very good reason not to attend in person at all. The front office doesn’t need to give fans another, more familiar one by being seen as being cheap.
Both the Miami Marlins players, and their fans, deserve it.