Miami Marlins Right This Week, But Still Wrong Overall

The Miami Marlins have looked right this week, but are they still wrong overall about their 2021 approach?

In terms of the NL East standings, the Miami Marlins are doing exactly what they were supposed to do this season. Staying competitive in baseball’s toughest division.

Despite injuries to four Opening Day starters and two-fifths of the projected starting rotation, the Marlins are just two games out of first place. This week saw Miami sweep the surprising Diamondbacks, and bring a four game winning streak into Saturday’s action. A streak all the more impressive considering it featured a bullpen day win, and two massive home runs from Lewis Brinson and Isan Diaz– two players the Marlins will probably option and/or cut by season’s end.

However, that’s the kind of thing that works for a week. Not a season.

The Marlins are on a four game winning streak in large part because they haven’t faced anyone who would be more than number four starter on a team with championship ambitions. They’re on a four game winning streak because the Brewers and Diamondbacks both sport weak offenses that are missing their best player.

But they’re also on a four game winning streak because they might have the best collection of top three starting pitchers outside of the NL West.

That’s a precious thing. Unfortunately, the Miami Marlins front office seems like they might be content to waste it. Blindly trusting that it will be just as good in another year or two.

Hopefully, it will be. It’s a deep system. Yet for a team that spoke openly about last year not being a fluke, about wanting to return to the playoffs this season, to be this content to trot out players who probably don’t belong on an MLB roster…it’s baffling. The San Francisco Giants weren’t facing an injury situation nearly as bleak as the one the Marlins were looking at, and saw fit to trade for Mike Tauchman last week.

Are we really to believe the Marlins couldn’t have swung that deal? Do the Marlins really believe that Brinson will have a better season than Tauchman?

More importantly though is the issue of the rest of the starting rotation. Taking advantage of many early off days, the team has been able to get away almost entirely with a four man rotation thus far. That’s going to change going forward. The contributions of “the fourth starter” have been ugly, and imagining what will come from a fifth starter over the next two weeks is terrifying stuff.

Whether it’s Paul Campbell, Nick Neidert, Daniel Castano, the entire bullpen, or whatever else….that’s really not worth just throwing a couple million at Anibal Sanchez or Rick Porcello to eat up some innings?

To be clear, I don’t think the Miami Marlins will make the playoffs this year. Their best case outcome is losing to whatever team doesn’t win the NL West in the play-in series. But I do think they can be competitive all year. I do think they can have a winning record. Because while the offense is still at least a year away, the starting rotation is playoff ready right now. It could be championship caliber by July, if Sixto Sanchez is able to return.

But to be competitive all year, to gain all that valuable experience that would come out of it, the front office needs to spend a little bit in 2021. Use a little trade capital in 2021. Small market teams have small windows, and ownership needs to realize they can’t afford to waste a chance at a winning season. Not in this market, with all the Marlins history that comes with it. Where every other professional sports team is expected to make the playoffs, and make some noise when they do.

The Miami Marlins could lose the rest of the weekend and still call the week a massive success. The odds of being able to say the same thing by the end of the month, if they don’t bring in at least a little extra help?

Longer than those home runs Brinson and Diaz crushed earlier this week.