Why the Miami Marlins need to use free agency to add big bat

Because the Miami Marlins need to hit on a hitting prospect

The Miami Marlins might have more money than they’re used to having for payroll- but they’re still a lower revenue ballclub that is hardly just one piece away from a championship.

Bottom-line, Miami is going to need to keep developing their own players to really have a chance at contention. Pitching-wise, that is something the Marlins have excelled at, with depth on that front that has become the envy of MLB. Hitting-wise, well the record hasn’t been nearly as sterling.

In point of fact, it’s been pretty terrible. Jazz Chisholm remains an unfinished product, with plenty of question marks. Jesus Sanchez could be good, then again maybe not. But at no point during this ownership regime has a position player done anything to make a fan think that they have the next Hanley Ramirez/Dan Uggla/Giancarlo Stanton/Christian Yelich on their hands. Or for that matter a Mike Lowell or Luis Castillo. Certainly no superstars, but no absolute lineup fixtures either. All of the bats in Miami’s lineup that have proven to be reliable on the MLB stage are older veterans.

That’s a problem if you don’t have Mets money to keep buying your way out of trouble.

Consequently, the Miami Marlins would be best served holding on to as many of their position player prospects as possible. Someone out of Sanchez, JJ Bleday, Peyton Burdick, Khalil Watson, or the rest of the pack is going to need to develop into an All-Star caliber offensive threat if the team is going to start perennially contending anytime soon. Once they have a better sense of who is going to take that step, they can consider depleting the farm further.

Something that might make sense for the organization as soon as midsummer…