Marlins owner Bruce Sherman spoke to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Craig Mish about the club’s season, expressing his delight at the overall results so far and explaining that general manager Kim Ng will have financial resources to work with by the upcoming deadline could.
“This has been one of the most exciting seasons in Marlins history and I am thrilled with what we have achieved so far,” he said. “The work is not done yet. We want to be there in the 2023 postseason. I am ready to provide Kim and her staff with the resources she needs to help the club over the next month.”
It’s been a long time since the Marlins have been in this situation. Despite reaching the post-season in the truncated 2020 season, the club last qualified for a full season in 2003. The last time they set a winning record in a 162-game season was in 2009. But here, in the year 2023, The club is well above .500 at 51-38. They’re 8.5 games behind a dominant Atlanta club in the National League East, but Miami currently hold the top spot in the wild card in the Netherlands. A skeptic might point to the club’s negative run differential and incredible record of 21-5 in one-run games, suggesting that run is unsustainable. But regardless of how they came about, those victories are on the bench and the club are well placed to make extensions to support the rest of the fixture list.
One of the reasons the club has struggled so much over the past two decades is the lack of financial resources, as the club has rarely made large cash outlays, especially not in recent history. According to data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the club has only made a payroll to get out of the bottom 10 twice this century. The last time was in 2012, well before Sherman bought the club in late 2017.
Shortly after the takeover by the Sherman Group, the club’s most important steps were cost-cutting measures. Gian Carlo Stanton, Christian Yelich And Marcell Ozuna were all traded between December 2017 and January 2018, with JT Realmuto issued a little over a year later. The club has essentially been in rebuilding mode since then, with last year’s record of 69-93 being the strongest in the last full season.
That means we have no precise idea of how the Marlins will perform as of this year’s deadline, as the club has never performed so well during Sherman’s tenure. The same applies to Ng, who only got her job after the 2020 season. This year’s deadline is also expected to be quite unpredictable as few clubs are clear sellers and many expect there will be more deals between the contenders.
All of these factors make it difficult to predict exactly how the marlins will behave, but there are reasons to expect aggressiveness. Given that it has been so long since the club has had any significant success, it’s safe to assume there’s an inner desire to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of the current position. The fact that Sherman appears willing to help out the club with some financial leeway should only help them keep more of their trading targets on the table.
As for the parts of the roster they upgrade, there would be several options. Just about every contender wants to snag an extra substitute or two this time of year, and the Marlins should be no exception. Their Auxiliary Corps has an overall ERA of 4.12, ranking 20th out of the league’s 30 clubs. The rotation was an area of oversupply at times, but suddenly there are some question marks. each of Trevor Rogers, Johnny Cueto And Edward Cabrera are currently on the injured list at the age of 20 Eury Perez could reach certain limits over the course of the season. Cabrera and Cueto could potentially return soon, with their health and performance possibly having an impact on whether or not the club feel the rotation needs to be bolstered.
As for position players, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently wrote about how an infield pursuit makes sense for the club, especially with third baseman Jean Segura This year he reached a paltry .202/.272/.252. The outfield was pretty strong overall but the midfield is a question mark at the moment. Jazz Chisholm Jr. recently ended up on the injured list due to an oblique strain and his replacement, Jonathan Davis, is possibly done for the year due to knee surgery. Thankfully, Chisholm’s strain appears to be mild and he could potentially return soon. Neither is behind the plate Nick Fortes still Jacob Stallings make for a lot of offense, but getting upgrades on deadline can be tricky, as a new backstop would have to learn an entirely new pitching rod in no time.
Whichever way Ng and her staff choose to play it, it’s sure to be an exciting time for the Marlins and their fans. Results on the field are the best they have had in a long time and they go into the deadline as obvious buyers, with the owner signaling that notable change is possible. The extent of these resources and how they will be deployed will not be known for several weeks, but the Marlins are poised to play a key role through the August 1st close.