The Marlins made a few big moves during the offseason. Unfortunately, the most significant move was off the field, in the front office, with the replacement of Kim Ng by Peter Bendix from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The lineup remains pretty much the same as last year when the team finished in third place in the NL East. The notable losses were of Jorge Soler, who chose free agency,
and Sandy Alcantara, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. At this writing, pitchers Perez, Cabrera and Garrett will also miss the start of the season for various reasons.
That leaves Arraez, Chisholm and DeLaCruz as the team’s returning everyday regulars who will be counted on to produce solid results at the plate. They are joined by newly acquired shortstop Tim Anderson who has proven in prior years that he can be an effective hitter.
It is obvious, however, that such a lineup lacks the power required to be competitive and portends a similar record as last year when the team’s offensive production was in the bottom half of most categories measuring offensive might.
This is one time when it would be delightful to be wrong, but at this point any other conclusion would be dreaming.
