Because it might be the only way the Miami Marlins get their man in 2022
Lastly, let’s turn our attention to the team the 2021 Miami Marlins front office has so far seemed most interested in:
The 2022 Miami Marlins.
You don’t put yourself in the position of having to trot out the kind of insult to a good AAA team lineups Miami has had to on occasion this season if you were really expecting to contend in 2021.
Teams serious about contending pay millions to Jonathan Villar to sit on their bench as the 26th man on the roster. Teams like the Marlins….tell you Magneuris Sierra is still going to be a thing. The bench is critical for contenders. The Dodgers are currently paying possibly the greatest player of my generation to be a pinch hitter. The Marlins still have Lewis Brinson…and now that he’s hurt, are counting on meaningful innings from someone who couldn’t beat out Lewis Brinson.
The thing is, there is a danger to waiting until 2022 to start splashing the pot when it comes to player payroll. And that is the presupposition that one of those big name free agents will be willing to sign a contract with you.
No, Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman are not Jeffrey Loria. There is a long-term plan to an extent there has never been a long-term plan here in Miami. But until that plan comes to fruition, the Marlins are probably going to keep being viewed as the Marlins. Whether current ownership cares or not about that past baggage, it’s still there. Which is a problem since even if the Marlins now are the very model of a modern model organization, they’re still going to lose most straight out bidding wars.
The surest way then for the Miami Marlins to land their big free agent next season is to bring him into the organization right now. Let him see what Miami is about for a couple months. Get a feel for his teammates. See how things are run here, what the clubhouse is like, what that long-term plan looks like in action. Check out the city for more than just a couple nights on a road trip. See that the organization values you so much they were willing to trade for you now, knowing you could walk when the season is over.
Throw all that in with Florida’s lack of state income tax, and that player might even take a little less to stick around for that long-term plan. Or at least see that things really have changed, and be willing to sign on.
Even if said player does leave, they can spread the good word. For example, say the Marlins did trade for two months of Bryant, and then let him leave to be overpaid by the Dodgers or the Yankees. You think Anthony Rizzo won’t ask his former teammate how Miami was?
It’s a risk, but a calculated risk. Possibly a low one in this market.
Short-term and long-term, it’s a risk the Miami Marlins should take.