The offseason for Major League Baseball is officially here for everybody as the World Series has come to a close. A few teams were highlighted during October as they found success during the playoffs, but one of those was not the Miami Marlins.
The Marlins had a mediocre year at best as they missed a berth to the postseason by four games and finished the year under .500. Ultimately it is not exactly a bad thing that they didn’t make the wild card as when a team gets there, they want to be a contender. The Marlins aren’t ready for that.
This is one of the youngest rosters in baseball, so there is plenty of room to grow as the ballclub has nowhere near reached their full potential yet. The offseason is a time to address each shortcoming that the team has, so next year they are in a different spot when October rolls around.
One area that is begging for help is their defensive performance as an all-around unit. There were some standouts as three of their players were named as Gold Glove finalists with one victor, utility man Javier Sanoja.
Sanoja was joined by a pair of teammates and even though they didn’t win, it is truly an honor to be nominated for the highest defensive honor that baseball has to offer: second baseman Xavier Edwards and left fielder Kyle Stowers.
There is no shame in Edwards losing to the pair of Chicago Cubs players who took the honor at their respective positions as they were a part of arguably the best defensive team in baseball. There are some individual players who don’t need addressing in the offseason, but the team doesn’t perform fluidly out in the field and that is an issue.
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Despite having a trio of players who stood out across the National League as some of the best in the game defensively, they fell short in many areas.
Marlins
League Average
Ranking
Runs Allowed Per Game
4.93
4.45
28th
Efficency
.700
.698
14th
Putouts
4330
4308
4th
Assists
1383
1366
13th
Errors
85
82
17th
Double Plays
107
121
26th
Fielding Percentage
.985
.986
23rd-19th
The Marlins didn’t necessarily have one area that was the ultimate hold up to a breakthrough season. They need one, preferably two, more bats, but their defense needs work as well clearly. There is a lot of time between now and opening day, so if Miami wants to throw their name in the hat with elite squads, some serious adjustments need to be made and that starts now in free agency.