Want Hope? Miami Marlins won two titles with January moves

For Miami Marlins fans entering 2023 wanting some hope, it might help to know that the club won two World Series thanks to January moves.

Thus far, it has not been a dazzling offseason for the Miami Marlins.

In fact, some you might be under the impression nothing has happened, if you opted to unplug for a few days between Christmas and New Years. Last week’s signing of Jean Segura represents the only activity involving a player who has proven he belongs in the majors and, while a definite upgrade, doesn’t really stack against the far splashier moves made by the team’s top NL East rivals.

All those teams made the playoffs. The Marlins? Not so much.

But if you want some hope for a more impactful January, it might interest you to know that the Miami Marlins have won two World Series thanks to January moves.

That’s right, the season’s first month has yielded some seriously important fruit on the player acquisition front. Granted, the total volume of moves in January has historically been pretty low, especially in the early goings. And if Marlins general manager Kim Ng does pull off that rumored blockbuster trade, it should pretty easily end up being viewed as the biggest move in the team’s January history.

However, best January move would be hard. That’s just the reality when about 20 years ago, the Miami Marlins signed Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez thanks to some freed up special money in an attempt to put a promising roster over the top. Needless to say, it worked out better than anyone dared to hope, with Miami winning their second world championship that very 2003 season.

Of course, in order to win a second championship, you have to win a first. Something that became a lot easier for the 1997 Marlins when, in January of 1996, they came to terms with free agent pitcher Livan Hernandez. All he’d do is go on to win World Series MVP for the ’97 Fish. No biggie.

Oh, and as an honorable mention, how about Ichiro Suzuki coming to terms back in January 2015? It might not have resulted in a title, but a fan favorite and some baseball history is nothing to sneeze at either.

What’s the bottom line? Just because it’s been a slow offseason for the Marlins so far, that doesn’t mean it can’t heat up in a hurry.