Are the Miami Marlins being dumb, cheap, or smart in 2022?

Unfortunately, there has been plenty to question about the Miami Marlins roster this season. Was the team dumb, cheap, or smart though?

Once again, it would seem that a Miami Marlins season is taking a direction very different from the one fans believed they were getting in the offseason.

Then again, if the Marlins could find a way to bottle whatever offensive formula they’ve employed against the Rockies this season (7.6 runs per game), 2022 might still work out after all. Recent success aside though, Miami is a long shot at best for the playoffs, or even a winning season. Which just wasn’t what ownership promised at the start of spring training, or even what was expected from an understandably skeptical fanbase.

All of which begs the question: why couldn’t we all be Yankees fans?

Just kidding. No, the question that it actually begs is what went wrong. More specifically, when it came to putting together this 2022 roster…were the Miami Marlins dumb, cheap, or smart?

Understandably, things are never that black and white. Pick the offseason of any team in MLB, and you’ll find at least one dumb, cheap, and smart decision made by every one of them. Still, I think it’s fair to say that the Marlins aren’t where their fans wanted them to be right now, and certainly aren’t where the organization suggested they would be. What’s more, it’s not the first, second, or even the third time that has been the case in franchise history. Granted, most of that is that on the previous ownership group, but the baggage remains. Thus the need for another pre-July autopsy on a Marlins season. Which makes it more than fair to levy some harsh criticism, and seek out some harsher truths about how the franchise chooses to operate.

So which was it? Buffoonery? Penury? Or just plain crafty? What is the root cause for another season leaving Miami on the outside looking in? Let’s dive in, starting with…