A group
led by Derek Jeter just purchased the Miami Marlins. The face of that franchise, rightfielder Giancarlo
Stanton, has requested to be traded if the intention is going to be a full
tear-down and rebuild. My question is:
why would they? This is a team with a
very strong youth core starting with arguably the best outfield in baseball. Beyond that, they have only three players
that will be free agents this offseason and only five more after next season.
Let’s
start with Stanton. At only 27, he is
coming off a 2017 season where he led all MLB hitters in home runs (59) and RBI
(132). He also led the NL in slugging
percentage (.631) and was 2nd in runs scored (123). He sits firmly in what is likely to be a
two-horse race for the NL MVP with Nolan Arenado of the Rockies. Beyond that, he has established himself as
one of the most feared hitters in this generation.
Accompanying
Stanton in the outfield are two budding young superstars, Marcell Ozuna (26)
and Christian Yelich (25). Ozuna will
also garner votes for MVP, though his numbers are greatly overshadowed by Stanton’s. He was tied for 3rd in the NL in
home runs (37), 3rd in RBI (124), 6th in batting average
(.312), and 9th in slugging (.548). Yelich was one of only 8 NL
hitters to score 100 runs, due in large part to Stanton and Ozuna hitting
behind him. He also plays an
above-average centerfield in one of the more difficult outfields in the league.
It’s
not just the outfield that is talented and infused with youth. Dee Gordon might be the most prototypical
leadoff hitter in baseball. The
29-year-old second baseman led the MLB in stolen bases (60), collected 201 hits
(T-2nd NL), and tallied 9 triples (T-3rd NL). JT Realmuto (26) has very quietly established
himself as one of the best young catchers in the game. Among MLB catchers, he ranked near the top in
runs scored (68, 2nd), hits (148, 2nd), doubles (31, 2nd),
triples (5, 1st), RBI (65, 6th), batting average (.278, 2nd),
and slugging (.451, 3rd). He
also played in more games and had more at bats than any other catcher. Justin Bour, a former Rule 5 pick, is coming
off a strong season where he hit .289 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI despite
missing all of August with an oblique strain.
There
are definitely some areas that will need some addressing in the offseason. Third baseman Martin Prado and prospect
shortstop JT Riddle are both coming off surgeries. Prado is the only projected starting position
player over the age of 30. Miami is one
of the few teams that could be in the market to add at shortstop. The pitching will also need some
addressing. Edinson Volquez went down in
August and had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
He may not play in 2018. Dan
Straily and Jose Urena had strong years.
Wei-Yin Chen had some elbow issues that limited him to nine games and
only five starts. He holds a player
option for 2018. AJ Ramos was traded
midseason, so the Marlins are without an established closer. They have plenty of young bullpen arms
available, so it is possible that they could find someone to fill that void
from within.
On a
team that has all eight positional starters under control for at least another
two seasons and all but one under the age of 30, a complete rebuild seems like
a foolish endeavor. They will definitely
need to address the pitching rotation and shore up behind some players coming
off major injuries, but this team is only a couple of pieces away from building
a playoff contender. If the Marlins
ownership takes what they have and builds on it, watch out for Miami in 2018 and for years to come.
