The perennially rebuilding Miami Marlins finally made it to the postseason in 2020, thanks in large part to the expanded playoff arrangement in place.
They were quickly ousted, but we were able to see a glimpse of the franchise potential in the next five years, as their prospects establish themselves in the bigs.
But there are still things the Marlins can do to accelerate their path to contention and get out of their rebuilding phase once and for all.
2. Increase Payroll
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Marlins entered the 2021 season with a $56,931,750 payroll, the 28th lowest in MLB.
Increasing that payroll would go a long way in competing with the best.
They had a $115,406,101 payroll, the 20th in MLB, as recently as 2017, the last season with Stanton on the team.
Somewhere around $70 million or $80 million would probably mean the chance to bring a much-needed offensive jolt.
The Marlins have many good pitchers, but their offense is among the worst in baseball.
If the team wants to compete with the elite, it needs to find more offense, and one of the ways to achieve that is by increasing payroll.
Besides, they need to take advantage of their opening contention window.
It may not seem like it given their 27-35 record, but Miami can be competitive as soon as 2022 rolls around if they make the right moves.
Even this season, they have a tiny chance of making some noise if they right the ship, but they are already seven games out of first place.
1. Use Pitching Prospect Surplus To Trade For Young, MLB-Ready Hitters
The Marlins have lots of exciting young arms in their system and on the major league roster.
Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara, and Trevor Rogers broke out either last season or this year, and all of them are viewed as building blocks for the future.
Trevor Rogers has been one of the best left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball this season 👀#MLB #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/1biCylL7MI
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) June 10, 2021
Arms like Nick Neidert and Braxton Garrett are also well regarded.
The team also has three additional excellent young hurlers who are currently injured: Sixto Sanchez, Elieser Hernandez, and Cody Poteet.
Max Meyer and Edward Cabrera are developing in the minor leagues and ooze potential.
Edward Cabrera's day is done.
He finishes with three scoreless innings to go along with three strikeouts and no walks.
FB: 9⃣6⃣-9⃣7⃣ MPH
CH: 9⃣0⃣-9⃣3⃣ MPH
CB: 7⃣9⃣-8⃣3⃣ MPH(Can we please keep him, @Marlins?) pic.twitter.com/Dk9cPWbRHa
— Jupiter Hammerheads (@GoHammerheads) June 6, 2021
It’s evident that the Marlins have tons of pitching prospects of all kinds: lefties, righties, top-of-the-rotation arms, backend types, sinkerballers, power pitchers, you name it.
However, there aren’t many building blocks on offense.
Jazz Chisholm is the second baseman of the future and Miguel Rojas is signed for the long term.
Other than that, and a few effective veterans such as Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson, and Jesus Aguilar, there isn’t much to speak of when it comes to batters for tomorrow.
JJ Bleday is a nice outfield prospect, but is still far from the majors.
Isan Diaz and Lewin Diaz have seemingly stalled, but Jesus Sanchez is an interesting outfielder who may be ready soon.
Still, the Marlins’ offense doesn’t have nearly as much promising names as the team’s pitching staff.
It makes sense to use some of that pitching depth to bring a bat or two that is major-league ready to help the team contend while they can enjoy Lopez, Rogers, Alcantara, and Sanchez’s years of team control.
Leave a Reply